European experience highlights lessons to be learned over the black market

The threat of the black market and unregulated gambling received short shrift from some MPs in a recent parliamentary debate, but the experience of some European markets has highlighted the risks.

A report by PwC commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) demonstrated the scale of unregulated markets across Europe, which the BGC said provided a warning about the dangers of making regulation too restrictive.

One such example was Norway, where a state monopoly was introduced for all gaming coupled with affordability checks and restrictions on stakes and advertising, which according to the PwC report resulted in an unregulated market accounting for more than 66 per cent of all money staked.