Commission study finds unlicensed gamblers keep betting with licensed sites

Research produced by the Gambling Commission indicates that UK customers who bet repeatedly with unlicensed operators continued to use licensed ones as well, a pattern that runs against expectations held both by the regulator and by large sections of the gambling industry.

The finding centres on how the licensed and unlicensed parts of the British market relate to one another. Repeat use of unlicensed sites did not, in the cases examined, appear to replace activity on licensed platforms; the same customers were still showing up on regulated ones. That points to overlap between the two, rather than a straightforward shift of play away from licensed products.

The question matters because the scale and nature of unlicensed gambling is a long-running theme in UK policy debate. Operators have frequently argued that restrictive rules on licensed products drive customers towards unregulated sites, while others have questioned how large that movement really is. Evidence that heavy unlicensed users remain active on licensed platforms complicates both readings and bears on how the black market is measured and characterised.

The Commission's work was examined in an industry podcast discussion, with host Charlie Horner joined by SBC Media Editor Ted Menmuir and others to work through what the results mean for the regulator and for operators. The central point under discussion was the assumption, previously widespread, that unlicensed play and licensed play sit in opposition to one another.

For now the research reframes rather than resolves the debate. It suggests that a customer using an unlicensed operator repeatedly is not necessarily a customer lost to the licensed market, an observation with implications for how the industry and its regulator describe consumer behaviour and for the arguments each side makes about the consequences of regulation.