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

The scale of the flight of bettors to the black market is laid bare today as the findings from the Racing Post's Big Punting Survey of almost 10,000 punters are revealed. 

More than one in three of the highest-staking bettors admit to using a black market bookmaker in the last 12 months and the share of all punters indicating they have used an illegal operator has risen by more than a third in the last two years.

The landmark survey shows growth of the black market comes amid ever-increasing levels of friction within Britain's regulated betting sector, with a rapidly growing share of punters reporting experiencing affordability checks and account restrictions.

The survey also found:

• 24% of bettors have been subject to affordability checks, an increase from 17% in 2023
  
  
• 61% of those confronted by a check refused to provide the financial information requested of them, while only half of those who complied were given a satisfactory deposit limit
  
  
• 64% said their decision to use the black market was in direct response to an affordability check
  
  
• 44% of bettors have had restrictions placed on at least one account, up from 35% two years ago
  
  
• 29% of respondents said their betting on racing had declined in the last six months, up from 25%

Responding to the findings, the BHA's acting chief executive Brant Dunshea said the growth of the black market was an inevitable consequence of affordability checks and urged the government to take "urgent action" to address the growing exodus of punters from legal bookmakers and its impact on racing's finances.

The survey found that 4.9 per cent of all punters have used the black market in the last year, an increase of a third from 3.6 per cent when the question was asked two years ago.

However, more worryingly the poll shows that the proportion of bettors using illegal operators increases rapidly alongside average bet size, with one in five £100-a-bet punters and more than one of three of those who bet £1,000 utilising the black market, indicating that the sport's highest-spending customers are turning away from regulated betting in large numbers.

The poll also revealed the most common way for high-staking punters, those reporting an average stake of £100 or more, to access illegal operators is via encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram, highlighting the challenges facing the Gambling Commission in its efforts to clamp down on black market activity.

Revealed: the racehorse owner fronting an illegal bookmaker with more than 1,000 customers 

Online betting turnover on racing has fallen by £1.6 billion in the past two years, a figure that represents a real terms decline of £3bn when adjusted for inflation. 

Racing's leaders have long warned the rollout of affordability checks, alongside other financial probes such as anti-money laundering checks, would lead to a revenue crisis for the sport and the flight of frustrated bettors to black market operators who pay nothing to racing or the exchequer and offer no protections to potentially vulnerable customers.

"The BHA has repeatedly warned of the potential consequences of affordability checks," Dunshea added.

"The results of the Racing Post’s Big Punting Survey clearly demonstrate the significant impact that checks are already having on not just bettors' freedom to spend their money how they wish, but also on the sport’s finances."

Brant Dunshea: findings a "stark warning" to the government

While bookmakers, acting under Gambling Commission pressure, have applied affordability checks for several years now, Rishi Sunak's government proposed replacing these with a system of so-called frictionless financial checks in its 2023 gambling white paper.

These are currently being piloted by the Gambling Commission, although in an update earlier this month it conceded the system being tested had the scope to cause "confusion" as the credit reference agencies which assess customer finances can produce different findings for the same individual. 

Dunshea added that the Big Punting Survey findings were a "stark warning" to government and the commission that any solution must be "proportionate and entirely frictionless".

He added: “The increase in black market betting made clear in this survey adds to a growing weight of evidence about the growing threat of the unlicensed sector.

"The recent International Federation of Horseracing Authorities report, which found a 522 per cent rise in British bettors using unlicensed gambling sites over a three-year period, is yet more evidence of the risks posed by well-intentioned policies that could drive some bettors to unregulated sites where there are no player protections.

“All of this underlines the urgent need for the government to take action.”

Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace echoed Dunshea's concerns, saying: "The Gambling Commission continues to stick its head in the sand with regards the dire impact of their affordability measures. As demonstrated by the results of this survey, they continue to have a massive, and entirely unnecessary, impact on British horseracing. 

"Now, more than ever, the government must take action to help our fantastic industry grow and compete against our European colleagues."

Responding to the survey, a spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "We understand the concerns of horseracing about the current operator affordability checks that rely on onerous document checks. A replacement for these checks is currently being piloted by the Gambling Commission. If introduced, this new system should be better for customers and better for horseracing."

Tomorrow: Flat or jumps – which do bettors prefer? We reveal the numbers in part two of the Big Punting Survey

The Big Punting Survey...

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

'The restrictions are nonsense' - interference in betting accounts on the rise according to Racing Post's Big Punting Survey  

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