BGC proposes five-point plan to fight UK illegal gambling surge

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) unveiled a five-point action plan on June 8, 2026, to combat the growing illegal gambling market in the UK, which H2 Gambling Capital projects could reach £33 billion in stakes by 2028.

Why it matters

The boom in unlicensed gambling threatens to pull players away from regulated operators that enforce age checks, deposit limits, and dispute mechanisms. The BGC warned that illegal sites offer none of those safeguards, leaving UK consumers exposed to potential fraud and unregulated play. The trade body, which represents about 90% of Britain's regulated betting and gaming sector, said the plan is designed to support the government's Illegal Gambling Taskforce under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Source data

The BGC cited H2 Gambling Capital data showing that the amount wagered on illegal gambling sites could climb from £17 billion in 2025 to more than £33 billion by 2028. A separate analysis by WARC, also cited by the BGC, found that illegal operators already account for almost half of UK gambling advertising spend and could overtake licensed operators by 2028.

On the enforcement side, the Gambling Commission's Illegal Markets team has issued 3,140 cease-and-desist and disruption notices since April 2024. The team also referred 447,778 Google and Bing URLs to search engines and secured removal of 287,961 URLs.

The five-point plan

The BGC's proposal targets five areas: advertising, payments, website hosting, domain registration, and tech platforms. The council called on social media companies and search engines to do more to block advertising from unlicensed operators. It urged payment providers to cut off financial services to illegal sites and asked hosting companies and domain registrars to suspend websites tied to unlicensed gambling.

The plan also includes a recommendation for the government to require that tech platforms use a verification tool, such as the Gambling Commission's API, to check whether an operator holds a valid license before allowing paid advertising.

Player impact

For UK players, the growth of the black market means more people may encounter sites that lack responsible-gambling tools, identity verification, or any route to complain to a regulator. The BGC said its proposals are meant to steer consumers toward licensed operators, where safeguards are mandatory. The Gambling Commission's enforcement figures suggest the scale of the problem is significant: more than 3,000 cease-and-desist notices in just over two years.

What remains unclear

The BGC's plan is a set of proposals, not a government policy. There is no confirmation that social media companies, payment providers, or the Gambling Commission will adopt the specific measures the BGC recommends. The BGC did not disclose details on enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance, and data on actual player harm linked to illegal sites was not included in the announcement.

What happens next

The BGC said it will present the five-point plan to the DCMS-led Illegal Gambling Taskforce. The taskforce is expected to consider the proposals as part of its broader review of black-market enforcement. No timeline for government action has been announced. Players who want to verify an operator's license status can check the Gambling Commission's public register.