BGC sets out five-point plan to fight the gambling black market

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has published a five-point plan to tackle the UK gambling black market, warning that the amount staked with unlicensed operators could rise sharply over the next few years. The trade body, which represents licensed betting and gaming firms in Britain, set out the proposals on 8 June 2026 and is urging the government, technology platforms and payment providers to act together against illegal sites that target British players.

For anyone who plays at online casinos, the headline is simple. Unlicensed sites are getting easier to stumble across, they can look almost identical to regulated brands, and they offer none of the protections that a UK licence is meant to guarantee.

What has the BGC proposed?

The plan focuses on cutting off the networks that let illegal operators reach UK consumers. In summary, the BGC wants:

• social media and advertising platforms to take responsibility for removing illegal gambling promotions, including those that reach children and vulnerable people;
• stronger powers to block unlicensed gambling websites and remove unlicensed apps;
• payment providers to cut off transactions linked to unlicensed sites;
• meaningful penalties for companies that knowingly help illegal operators through advertising, payments or hosting;
• tougher criminal sanctions against those who run or profit from illegal gambling aimed at UK customers.

You can read the proposals in full on the BGC website. It is worth being clear about what this is. These are recommendations from an industry body, not a change in the law. Whether any of them become binding depends on the government and the regulator.

Why the gambling black market is growing

The BGC points to research from H2 Gambling Capital, which estimates that the amount wagered on illegal gambling sites in Britain could climb from around £17 billion in 2025 to more than £33 billion by 2028. On those figures, roughly one in every five pounds staked online would be placed with an unlicensed operator.

Earlier in the year, at its annual meeting, the BGC said about 1.5 million people in Britain were already using unlicensed sites, staking close to £10 billion a year outside UK regulation. The council and several operators argue that recent tax rises, including the increase in Remote Gaming Duty to 40 per cent from April 2026, risk pushing more players towards the black market by squeezing the regulated industry. That view is contested. The government maintains the changes are needed to support public finances and to fund enforcement, including extra money for the Gambling Commission.

Why this matters for players

The practical difference between a licensed and an unlicensed casino is protection. Sites that hold a UK licence must follow rules on fair games, advertising, anti-money-laundering checks and, crucially, responsible gambling tools such as deposit limits and self-exclusion. Illegal operators ignore all of it.

The risk is not abstract. The BGC has warned that unlicensed sites often deliberately target people who have self-excluded through schemes such as GamStop, and that many of these sites look professional enough that ordinary players struggle to tell them apart from regulated brands. If a withdrawal is refused or a dispute arises, customers of an illegal site have little or no recourse.

What it could mean for payments, bonuses and safety

If the plan gains traction, the most visible changes for players would be around payments and advertising. Payment blocking is already part of the regulator’s toolkit, and closer cooperation with banks and card networks could make it harder to deposit at an unlicensed site in the first place. Players may also see fewer illegal adverts on social media if platforms are pushed to take them down.

Bonuses are where players should be most alert. Unlicensed sites often advertise oversized welcome offers and “no verification” or “non-GamStop” deals that regulated operators are simply not allowed to match. An offer that looks far more generous than anything at a licensed casino is a warning sign, not a bargain. The same goes for any site promising instant payouts with no identity checks, because verification exists to protect players and to meet anti-money-laundering rules.

What players should watch next

Nothing changes overnight. The proposals now sit with policymakers, and the Gambling Commission has separately said it expects the illegal market to grow and that technology firms will need to do more. The regulator has also signalled that it will explore regulated crypto payments as one way to keep players inside the licensed market, since cryptocurrency is a common route to illegal sites.

For now, the most useful step a player can take is to check a site’s licence before depositing. UK-facing operators must display their licensed status, and you can confirm it on the Gambling Commission register. Our own casino reviews only cover licensed brands, and our guide to UK casinos explains what a valid licence should look like.

Betspin view

The debate over tax and regulation will run for some time, and there are fair arguments on both sides about whether tighter rules help or hinder. What is not in dispute is the player-level takeaway. A growing black market means more convincing fake casinos, so the value of sticking to licensed sites has gone up, not down. Checking a licence takes a minute. The protection it buys, on fairness, payments and responsible gambling, is the whole point.