Failure to act on black market 'would be an act of vandalism' in wake of Big Punting Survey findings

Failure to act to curb the growth of black-market bookmaking would be viewed as "an act of vandalism on racing, jobs and the economy," a leading gambling executive has warned.

Grainne Hurst, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), described findings from the Racing Post's Big Punting Survey of almost 10,000 punters as "shocking" and said the black market posed an "existential threat" to British horseracing.

The survey found that more than one in three of the highest-staking bettors admitted to using a black market bookmaker in the last 12 months, while the share of all punters indicating they have used an illegal operator has risen by more than a third in the last two years.

Online betting turnover on racing has fallen by £1.6 billion in that period, a figure that rises to £3bn when adjusted for inflation, a decline which has reduced the sport's income by tens of millions of pounds.

• Racing's crisis: 1 in 3 high-rollers turn to black market amid rising frustration for punters unable to bet with legal bookies 

• We asked 10,000 punters about affordability checks and the black market. What you told us is alarming 

Hurst, speaking after the BGC's annual meeting in London, said: "The results of the Racing Post’s Big Punting Survey are genuinely shocking. It’s clear the illegal and growing gambling black market now poses an existential threat to racing, and failure to act now will be viewed by history as an act of vandalism on racing, jobs and the economy."

Hurst said that campaigners for gambling reform had made accusations of scaremongering about the black market.

She added: "If they get their way, we will see more draconian rules and restrictions and a further explosion in black market gambling, which sucks money from sports like racing, doesn’t pay a penny in tax, and actively targets those the BGC and our members seek to protect, including young people and the self-excluded.

“Anti-gambling campaigners said we were inflating the threat to avoid change. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. This should serve as a wake-up call to the government – balanced regulations and a stable tax regime are the best defence against this growing black market menace."

Grainne Hurst: Survey results "genuinely shocking"

The survey found that high-staking punters were commonly gaining access to the black market via encrypted messaging apps rather than illegal operators online, highlighting the Gambling Commission's difficulties in fighting the problem.

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes told the Racing Post: "There have been arrests in recent times for exactly that, for using messaging services to offer gambling principally to horseracing bettors."

He added: "What is important is that people use our confidential reporting portal to tell us about things they see going on. That has been really productive for us. 

"It gives us something that we can act on because it is not in the best interests of any sport for anybody to be luring people away with inducements to gamble illegally. That isn't going to help anybody and it generally isn't going to end well."

The survey also found that the number of respondents who say they have been subject to affordability checks by one or more bookmakers has risen from 16.6 to 23.7 per cent, while a growing proportion of relatively low-staking punters were also getting caught up in the checks.

The growth of the gambling black market is an "existential threat" to British racing, it has been claimedCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Account restrictions have also increased, with the proportion of respondents reporting restrictions to one or more betting accounts in the last 12 months at 31.9 per cent, compared to 25.6 per cent in 2023.

Rhodes, who was among the speakers at the BGC meeting, said the "themes, the topics, the concerns" coming out of the survey were "pretty consistent" with the commission's own findings.

He then spoke of the regulator's disquiet when following up cases of low-staking bettors being told by operators that they were subject to a Gambling Commission-mandated affordability check, saying that was not true.

"It's bad communication and it's misleading communication," Rhodes said. "I have raised it a few times with the industry now and I have specifically raised it today because it is causing confusion, it is unhelpful and it's misleading consumers as to what's happening."

The Gambling Commission is in the midst of a pilot of affordability checks – or financial risk checks as they have been termed – in an attempt to find a frictionless solution.

However, the regulator said in a recent update that there was the potential for confusion as different credit reference agencies could produce different findings for the same individual, an issue which shadow culture minister Stuart Andrew had told the BGC's meeting his team would "continue to keep a close eye on".

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes

Rhodes said the issue was being examined in the next phase of the pilot, adding: "One of the things that we are exploring is if there are common definitions which will try to smooth that difference out so we get more consistency on key points. That is why the pilot is really important."

Meanwhile, the threshold for the lower tier of 'light touch' financial vulnerability checks conducted by operators will, as planned, reduce to £150 net deposits per 30-day rolling period from £500 from Friday.

As for restrictions, Rhodes said the Gambling Commission had made a data request to the industry on restricted accounts, "because this topic keeps coming up but nobody has a very accurate picture".

Read more on the Big Punting Survey here:

Betting account restrictions on the rise as two in five report being limited 

Jumps or Flat? Our survey reveals a clear winner in punters' affections  

How do young people feel about racing and betting? The results might surprise you  

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