Industry Stakeholders Address Black Market Concerns at BGC AGM

Various industry and government figures spoke at the Betting and Gaming Council’s (BGC) annual general meeting (AGM), with consensus being the black market is set to grow in the wake of increased online gambling taxes.

Black market growth fears

From April, remote gaming duty, paid on online casino bets, will go up from 21% of gross gaming yield (GGY) to 40%. In addition, general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, will rise from 15% of GGY to 25% in April 2027; bets on horseracing will be exempt from this. Bingo duty will be scrapped.

The BGC, an industry trade body, has published a number of press releases and studies in recent months forecasting a growth in black market activity following the implementation of the increases.

Speaking at the AGM, BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst said:

“Betting and gaming is a genuinely enjoyable experience for 22 million people every month in the UK, and the vast majority do so safely and responsibly. That often gets lost or forgotten by anti-gambling campaigners, by some politicians, by some in the media – but it is a great part of our British culture."

Hurst has previously referenced analysis from Frontier Economics, which shows up to 1.5 million people a year in Great Britain are already gambling on unlicensed sites, staking up to £4.3 billion a year on the black market; this research was commissioned by the BGC.

According to the BGC, the Treasury has admitted there will be a £500 million increase in unlicensed activity when debating the increases in the House of Commons.

Gambling Commission backs up BGC

Ian Angus, Director of Policy at the Gambling Commission, spoke at the AGM and conceded:

"The threat of the illegal market is higher than it was previously. We do expect illegal gambling to grow as a result of the Budget [which was announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in November and included the increases].”

The government claims the increased online tax will generate additional tax revenue of more than £1 billion per year. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) recently lowered its forecast for betting and gaming receipts in 2025-26 to £3.8 billion from £4 billion, although the total is predicted to increase to £6 billion in the coming years, as a result of the online tax increases.

Shop closure concern

Nigel Huddleston MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, expressed concern for the regulated market via a video message. Huddleston referenced betting shop closures, which the likes of Betfred, Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain, and William Hill owner Evoke hinted at prior to the tax being announced. Flutter Entertainment announced in October it is to close 57 of its Paddy Power betting shops across the UK and Ireland.

Huddleston said:

"Britain should be proud of having one of the most robust regulated gambling markets in the world. If you make the regulated market less competitive – if you squeeze it too hard through tax and regulation at the same time – then you do not eliminate gambling. You displace it towards the harmful, illegal black market. That's not a theory. It's reality."

Illegal Gambling Taskforce

Also speaking at the AGM was Baroness Fiona Twycross, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Gambling, who spoke about the recently-launched Illegal Gambling Taskforce.

The taskforce brings together companies such as Google, Visa, TikTok and Mastercard alongside law enforcement and advertising bodies, focusing on illegal payments, advertising and cross-agency collaboration.