As pressure intensifies on Rachel Reeves to hike tax on the UK gambling industry, Gamstop has issued a stark warning on the threat of the black market.
The latest insights from Gamstop, alongside the UK Gambling Commission, warn that the black market is being allowed to thrive.
An independent evaluation by Ipsos, detailed damning numbers that 8% of Gamstop users had been lured to engage with unlicensed or illegal gambling operators.
It underpins the significant threat of the black market, specifically amongst the most vulnerable players.
The UKGC and Gamstop confirmed they will continue to monitor and report illegal operators targeting vulnerable consumers, which has led to the removal of promotional content and websites following cease and desist actions by the regulator.
Entering a new era of leadership, Gamstop’s new Chair, Chris Pond, highlighted the importance of data and insights when it comes to informing safer gambling.
Pond stated: “The Gamstop Group can play a key role in providing data and insights to inform research and policy and collaborating on prevention initiatives that align with national priorities. This is a moment to deepen our impact and reinforce our commitment to public protection, ensuring self-exclusion remains accessible, effective, and responsive to user needs.
“There is scope for data sharing and early intervention, where financial behaviour may signal risk; embedding self-exclusion tools into banking apps and platforms; and joint awareness campaigns to promote responsible gambling and financial wellbeing”.
A budget to boost the black market?
The aforementioned pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves has come from across the political spectrum.
Most recently, a group of 101 Labour MPs have signed a letter urging her to take a “polluter pays” approach to taxing online gaming as she weighs scrapping the two-child benefit cap.
This followed pressure from the Liberal Democrats to spike tax on the gambling industry, during their Party Conference earlier in the week.
However, this would be ignoring warnings over the impact it could have on black market engagement mirroring what has happened in other together markets such as Germany and the Netherlands.
The Betting and Gaming Council previously estimated that a third of punters would switch to the black market if a tax hike forced legal operators to withdraw offers and promotions.
Grainne Hurst, CEO of the BGC, warned: “Punters have been loud and clear, hit them with further taxes and they will walk away from the legal, regulated market, straight to the black market, triggering a spiral of decline which raises less tax, and undermines player protections.”
