Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
Already a member?
Log in
The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has highlighted what it calls “worrying evidence” of an increase in the use of illegal gambling operators in the UK, with visits to a number of monitored unlicensed sites seven times higher than they were in 2021.
According to a report from the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime, online traffic to illegal platforms grew fourteen fold between 2022 and 2025, from 1.8 million visits to over 25 million visits.
Visits to licensed betting sites in the same period dropped by 34%, while traffic was nearly seven times higher for the 32 monitored sites that took bets specifically on British horseracing, at 6.8 visits per 100 legal visits versus 0.97 in late 2021. The report analysed 301 websites, 74 of which were legal and 227 which were illegal.
The BHA was particularly concerned with the increase in betting activity on horse racing among black market platforms, with the Chief Executive noting that “an increasing number of consumers” seem to be “conducting their betting with illegal operators”.
“Throughout the Gambling Act Review, British racing consistently warned that even well-intentioned policy changes could have unintended consequences for our sport, including driving more customers towards the illegal market,” said Brant Dunshea, Chief Executive of the BHA. This research provides worrying evidence that those concerns are now being realised.
“Every racing customer who moves from a licensed operator to an illegal one faces greater risks and fewer consumer protections. These unlicensed businesses also contribute nothing to British racing or to the public finances,” he explained.
Dunshea went on to criticise the “limited progress” of action regarding black market operators from the Gambling Commission and the Illegal Gambling Taskforce, noting that “it is over nine months” since the Taskforce was created.
“Progress so far has been limited. We therefore look forward to working with the new Gambling Minister, Vicky Foxcroft, to inject some urgency into this process,” said Dunshea.
“This study is another clear reminder that gambling regulation must be balanced and proportionate, allowing people who bet safely on racing to continue doing so without unnecessary disruption.”
