The Gambling Commission estimates that 4% of people who gambled online in Great Britain engaged with illegal gambling websites during the 12 months covered by its latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB).
The findings, based on GSGB data collected between April 2025 and April 2026, were published alongside an updated Illegal Gambling Data Dashboard that tracks engagement with illegal gambling websites and the impact of the regulator’s work to protect consumers through disruption.
Survey identifies online users
Among people who gambled online during the past 12 months, 2.5% had engaged with illegal gambling websites during the previous four weeks.
A further 1.5% had engaged during the previous 12 months but not during the previous four weeks.
Across the whole population, including people who did not gamble, 0.6% had engaged with illegal gambling websites during the previous four weeks.
A further 0.4% had engaged during the previous 12 months but not during the previous four weeks. Overall, 94.4% of respondents showed no indication of using an illegal gambling website.
Engagement was higher among males than females and tended to be more prevalent among younger adults, particularly those aged 18 to 24. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, engagement was more evident during the previous four weeks.
A further 4.6% of respondents showed limited indications of engagement, although the evidence was insufficient to classify them as illegal gambling website users.
The Gambling Commission’s Illegal Gambling Index uses seven behavioral indicators to identify potential engagement with illegal gambling websites. These include gambling with cryptocurrency, accessing restricted websites through VPNs, using sites outside Gamstop, and gambling without age or identity verification.
The approach is intended to identify consumers who may engage with illegal operators without realizing that they are doing so.
The research also found that consumer motivations for using illegal gambling websites vary and cannot be explained by a single factor.
Monitoring expands across the sector
Sue Young, Executive Director for Operations at the Gambling Commission, said: “We want to kick crime out of gambling. Illegal gambling poses risks to consumers and tackling it is a priority for the Commission and our partners.
“While engagement with the illegal market from an overall population perspective appears low and stable from these indicators, there is a cohort of online gamblers who use these sites, and research suggests those consumers who use illegal operators are more likely to experience harm.
“This new data will help make sure activity to protect consumers is informed by the best available evidence, which is why we will continue to work across government, industry, technology and financial services to disrupt crime and protect consumers.”
The Commission said its monitoring indicators do not currently demonstrate sustained or substantial growth in illegal online gambling. It also said individual measures are estimates and cannot provide a definitive assessment of the market’s overall size.
Searches for gambling sites “not on Gamstop” were identified as a prominent route through which consumers discover illegal operators, while the research also identified interest in cryptocurrency-related gambling.
The regulator plans to update the dashboard every six months and expand monitoring to affiliates, advertising, payment providers, hosting services and other businesses supporting illegal gambling operations. Additional survey questions examining different categories of illegal gambling consumers will be introduced in 2027.