The United Kingdom Gambling Commission wants more awareness of black market betting sites, according to a new report.
The Illegal Online Gambling Report, which the regulating body published on September 18th, investigates the rise in illegal gambling, the motivations behind it, and aims to raise consumer awareness of prohibited betting sites.
This report is the first in a series of studies by the gambling regulator, and it made some interesting conclusions, with the biggest being that many consumers were unaware that certain operators mentioned in the study were illegal.
Audiences were divided into four types:
- Those who were excluded/ had stopped gambling altogether.
- Skilled advocates – those were described as knowingly using illegal gambling sites.
- Social explorers – People who discovered the illegal sites through social media, who trialled them before playing.
- Accidental tourists – Those who accidentally found and played the sites, unaware that they are illegal ones.
Care to find out more about what the report found? Keep reading!
Why Do People Use Illegal Gambling Sites?
Those who participated in the survey were mostly unaware that illegal sites existed, or that the sites they engaged with were. Also highlighted in the report is that those who used illegal websites rarely could name them, showing a lack of understanding of black market sites.
Interestingly, the reasons highlighted for why people use illegal gambling sites were more mundane than you’d think. Reasons for using them are as follows:
- Online bet on football, bingo, fruit and slot games, and virtual gaming.
- To find better betting odds.
- Access unavailable games in the UK.
- Use other payment methods.
- Bypass using security and ID checks.
- Get away with not using self-exclusion and personal checks.
- Looking for new opportunities – new games and rewards.
There was a distinction between those who had unknowingly used them and those who had knowingly used them. Those aware of them used the sites for better betting opportunities.
Why The Concern?
The concern for raising awareness on the black market casinos is because many respondents showed a lack of awareness of their existence, and if they did, they were using black market casinos for the wrong reasons. For example, using the black market website to bypass ID verifications could suggest players do not want to be identified for their gambling habits, or they are gambling underage.
Furthermore, those who were using illegal sites to gamble before their period of self-exclusion is over can suggest a problematic relationship with gambling. Unregulated sites do not comply with UK regulations of responsible gambling policies, so self-exclusions don’t exist on these websites. For those who do not have a good relationship with gambling, this can be problematic because no limits are set for them, leading to impulsive betting.
Who Is Using Them?
The UKGC identified the four core audiences who engage in illegal gambling among their respondents. The self-excluders had stopped gambling through GAMSTOP and knowingly engaged in betting with black market sites because they could no longer access licensed gambling sites. Self-exclusions can be set by the player or the casino, and stop the player from accessing casinos for a certain period of time, usually a few weeks or months at a time.
Skilled players also knew black market sites and would use them to explore new games they might not have access to in the UK. They primarily wanted what they consider to be a different gaming experience, with access to better odds, lower stakes, and access to new digital payment methods. Sites would be found using threads and social media sites.
For social explorers, they would also find black market sites on social media and forums like Reddit, but they would be more careful than the previously mentioned audiences. Crucially, the report found that this group had a large unawareness of the black market sites they were playing on, because they were playing for social reasons. Highlighted within this group is an unawareness of the differences between legal and illegal sites, such as licensing.
Lastly, accidental tourists, as they’re called in the study, were the group who did not know that they were using illegal sites. They stumbled upon them accidentally while seeking better odds, high RTP games, and for enjoyment.
What Conclusions Were Drawn From The Report?
The UKGC acknowledged that there were several limitations with their study. One being that the results from the study are reliant on players being honest and self-reporting their gambling habits. Additionally, the secretive nature of gambling on the black market, due to its illegal nature, makes it hard to find conclusive data on participation rates. Furthermore, data on future behaviour depends on what respondents say and is not concrete, so it can be hard to conclude that.
Now, onto the conclusions.
To combat gambling on the black market, the UKGC recommends a greater level of education on black market sites to raise consumer awareness of their existence and the risks that come with them. Secondly, they recommend using specific intervention techniques for the four groups who use black market gambling sites, relating to the reasons why they use them.
Third, they suggested creating campaigns that are consumer-facing to combat consumer behaviour in illegal betting sites and highlight the risks.
They also suggested using more evidence-based research into illegal gambling products and services, as well as scrutiny of payment methods and affiliate advertising.
What Could This Mean For The Future?
For the future of the UK gambling industry, this could mark a positive change. In terms of licensing and regulation, this could become stricter because of black market sites, which would help to eliminate them. Furthermore, we could see a rise in campaigns and resources aimed at educating consumers, like the UKGC recommended.
Stricter enforcement and blockages of these sites may also commence depending on how the regulation of online casinos continues. Whether rules become tighter or not, it is a good thing to encourage education on illegal gambling sites and their risks, as it helps consumers know the dangers they can be in if they don’t use regulated sites.
