Entain has supported the Regulus Partners report, which calls on the UK government to “develop a unified policy to combat the growing threat from illegal operators, aimed at increasing revenue and enhancing player protection.”
The report, presented by Entain CEO Barry Gibson at the SBC summit in Lisbon, includes recommendations to counter unlicensed operators both in the UK and abroad, which would help “reduce a tax gap of approximately £340 million ($420 million) for the UK Treasury in the next parliament.”
“Taking on the black market operators should be a key priority for policymakers around the world,” commented Gibson
“It will tackle crime and raise money which could be spent on critical areas such as healthcare, education and infrastructure. It would ensure that customers get greater protection from playing with fully regulated and legitimate operators.”
Entain noted that the Regulus Partners report showed that “participation in the black market in the UK continues to grow,” despite the presence of a “proportional and balanced regulatory framework.”
International markets suffer even more from the illegal market due to “the influence of bans or strict restrictions on popular gambling that push players to the black market.”
In France, “about 45% of gambling revenues come from the black market,” while in Germany, this figure reaches “up to 60%.”
The Regulus report added that legal and regulatory countermeasures against the illegal market “have not yet been utilized widely” and that such countermeasures “can be highly effective as long as the domestically regulated product offer remains attractive”.
Five countermeasures were described within the report. These were:
- Blocking payments to black market operators through payment services providers to force them out of the market – while working with banks to ensure legitimate customers can gamble
- Restrictions on mainstream/social media advertising
- Blocking the IP addresses of operators and using the new Online Safety Act to make black market access more onerous
- Stepping up criminal enforcement to tip the risk-reward balance against unlicensed operators doing business.
- Public blacklist to educate consumers
The Regulus Partners report follows a study published last week by Frontier Economics for the Betting and Gaming Council, which estimated that 1.5 million UK residents bet on the illegal market annually, amounting to nearly £4.3 billion ($5.4 billion).
In response to this report, the BGC called for “balanced regulation and stable taxation” as the most effective measure to protect against the illegal gambling market.
Gibson emphasized: “This is a pivotal moment; if we go down the route of further tax increases rather than tackle the black market, it will drive even more customers towards unscrupulous operators and damage responsible, regulated businesses.”
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