Entain supported a report from Regulus Partners that called on the UK government to “implement a crackdown on the growing threat from operators in the illegal sports betting market to increase revenues and improve player protection.”
Report is presented at SBC Summit Lisbon
Unveiled at the SBC Summit in Lisbon by Entain CEO Barry Gibson, the study presents a series of policy proposals to combat unlicensed operators in the UK.
Thus, these measures are intended to help “close a fiscal gap of almost £340 million for the UK Treasury during the next parliament”.
“Tackling illegal market operators must be a key priority for policymakers around the world,” commented Gibson
“This will combat crime and raise money that could be spent on critical areas such as health, education and infrastructure. In other words, this would ensure that customers get greater protection when playing with legitimate and fully regulated operators.”
Thus, Entain noted that the Regulus Partners report showed that “the share of the illegal market in the UK is still growing” despite the country’s “proportionate and well-balanced regulatory framework”.
However, the irregular sector affects international markets even more. Due to “the impact of bans or heavy restrictions on popular gambling products, players end up migrating to the illegal market”.
In France, “around 45% of gambling revenue is spent on the illegal market”, while in Germany this figure “reaches 60%”.
Therefore, Regulus’ survey highlighted that authorities have not yet widely used legal countermeasures against these unlicensed operators. These countermeasures “can be highly effective as long as the domestically regulated product offering remains attractive.”
Entain supports strategies to crack down on illegal gambling
The report described five effective countermeasures. They are:
- Blocking payments to illegal market operators through payment service providers to force them out of the market. At the same time, work must be done with banks to ensure that legitimate customers can play
- Restrictions on conventional/social media advertising
- Blocking operators’ IP addresses and using the new Online Security Law to make access to the illegal market more costly
- Intensified criminal law enforcement to lower the risk-reward ratio against unlicensed operators doing business.
- Public list to educate consumers
The Regulus Partners report follows research published last week by Frontier Economics for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which estimated that 1.5 million British adults bet £4.3 billion on the illegal market every year.
In response to this report, the BGC called for “balanced regulations and stable taxation” as the best form of defense to combat unauthorized platforms.
Barry Gibson added: “This is a crucial moment. Therefore, if we go down the path of more tax increases instead of fighting the illegal market, it will drive even more customers to illegal operators. Responsible and regulated companies will be harmed.”
