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Key Highlights
In this blog post we cover the following topics:
Fraud is a threat to every successful industry, and the online gambling world is no exception.
Online gambling fraud is surging every year, and too many players are unknowingly placing bets on fake platforms designed to cheat them.
Awareness and communication are key factors in protecting players from fake games. At Gamecheck, we’re helping to create awareness amongst players by helping them to spot fake games, avoid risky sites, and make informed choices before they play.
A new study has found that in the UK 1.5 million people wager up to £4.3 billion on unregulated websites in the black market annually, leaving players vulnerable to fraud, addiction and zero protection.
In total, the research revealed 15 percent of those who regularly bet – around 2.8 million people, had heard of at least one online black-market site.
The report commissioned by the UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and published by Frontier Economics, revealed 27 million visits to unregulated sites in 2019 alone, with around 220,000 players engaging with unlicensed operators. By 2022, the number of British punters using unlicensed websites more than doubled to 460,000.
The black market is aggressively advertising to young people and problem gamblers. More than one in five eighteen to twenty-year olds use the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market online. Fraudulent operators based overseas often target customers who have self-excluded from regulated betting operators.
This report found illegal operators are aggressively targeting UK customers, especially vulnerable players, and therefore significantly undermining player protection.
Approximately £2.7 billion is staked annually on illegal online gambling sites in the UK. This figure comes from a study commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and conducted by Frontier Economics, which estimated that this amount represents about 2.1% of the £128 billion wagered with licensed online operators each year.
Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst, said: “This shocking report exposes the unnerving true scale of the growing, unregulated gambling black market. From online gaming, to betting on sports like horse racing, millions of customers are being driven into the arms of black-market operators. These people do not care about player safety, do not want to pay their fair share to support sport and do not pay a penny in tax.”
By failing to adhere to the stringent standards set by the Gambling Commission, unregulated operators in the unsafe black market can make bigger offers, grant customers total anonymity, and promise the freedom to gamble without any controls.
Worst of all, these sites are making a mockery of the rules set up to protect the most vulnerable by aggressively advertising their services to those who have self-excluded. Enforcement is only part of the solution. Proposals by anti-gambling prohibitionists like advertising bans or intrusive, blanket, low level affordability checks will not protect customers, in fact they will give another leg up to unscrupulous black-market operators, the last thing anyone wants.
Andrew Leicester, Associate Director at Frontier Economics and one of the report’s authors, added: “This report shows that most gambling today is done through regulated, visible channels. That is good news. But there are warning signs. The landscape is evolving quickly in ways that suggest black market gambling is getting easier to find and access.”
This report provides timely new evidence on the scale of the black market. Efforts to make gambling safer are important, but must avoid the risk of pushing more players towards unregulated providers who do not need to comply with regulations around safer play.
The report also uncovered the wide use of VPNs – or Virtual Private Networks – used to mask a customer’s true location so they can access unregulated gambling outfits operating overseas. Meanwhile, a worrying number of customers conduct betting on regulated and unregulated sites, posing more risk to the regulated market.
Current attempts to prevent the growth of the online gambling black market have proved unsuccessful, as illegal operators can easily rebrand or create new identities to evade detection and continue operating.
The Frontier Economics’ study was based on a large-scale survey of more than 6,000 people plus additional data supplied by BGC members. Each month around 22.5 million people in Britain enjoy a bet and the overwhelming majority do so responsibly.
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Separate studies have shown that European countries which deploy draconian regulations on betting, often see a surge in unregulated gambling. This troubling trend has extended across Europe, with a large percentage of wagers being placed on black market sites.
Restrictions in Norway resulted in a black market of over 66 percent of all money staked. Another report found that in Bulgaria 47 percent of money staked goes to unregulated gambling. In Portugal it is 31 percent. These countries face high rates of gambling taxes.
While some casinos are outright illegal in every jurisdiction, a casino can be legal in certain countries but still classed as illegal in other countries if it does not hold the licence needed to operate in that country.
Illegal sites peddle crypto gambling and gambling with credit cards, and mimic regulated sites to the point that over half of players (54 percent) were unaware they were even using unregulated operators.
Gambling Insider published an article on 19th February 2025 entitled: ‘Bulgaria on tackling illegal casinos: Europe’s lack of commitment is frightening'. According to this article, Bulgaria’s National Gambling Regulator (BNGR), has identified 5,174 illegal gambling websites when compared to 25 licensed ones.
A press conference was held by the newly formed coalition parliament to discuss black-market online gambling and how to protect vulnerable groups.
BSP Member Rumen Petkov called for a central register in Europe. He criticised Europe for not having a singular register which could be used as a database for regulatory bodies. According to Petkov, this would create “the prerequisite for the development of legal online gambling on the territory of the entire continent (of Europe).”
“First, there is an encroachment on the health, finances and well-being of entire generations and entire families. Secondly – fake casinos lead to an uncontrolled stream of funds, which is then re-invested into the production and trade of drugs, and human trafficking. Europe’s lack of commitment is frightening.”
Petkov highlighted how illegal gambling dominates the online space in Bulgaria, when compared to regulated online gambling sites. In 2024 alone, the list of illegal gambling websites grew by 3,007 entries. According to him, this shows that after measures were taken by the state to limit the advertising of licensed operators, this led to “a doubling” in illegal online gambling.
Indeed, many argue that placing strict restrictions on licenced operators can encourage the illegal online gambling space to flourish. As players willingly or unknowingly use these black-market gambling platforms they are creating a negative impact for legitimate game providers.
Bulgaria is not the only European country looking to protect players by placing restrictions on online gambling. The UK has introduced an outright ban on credit cards being used for online casino gambling. While, The Netherlands has recently introduced plans to raise the age limit of gambling to 21 years.
The creation of a single register of illegal gambling sites that serves as a database for the whole of Europe, and possibly beyond, would be a very useful tool in combatting online gambling fraud.
And this is exactly where Gamecheck’s Comprehensive Online Database comes in.
Gamecheck was established with a clear mission – to protect players from fraudulent games. Hence, Gamecheck has developed and continuously updates its comprehensive database of online casinos. This resource allows players to check whether the games they are playing are genuine or fake.
Gamecheck’s vision is to create the “go-to” centralised database of online casino websites, contributed to by the major game providers, which can easily be searched by players, highlighting the sites where fake games have been identified. This will provide valuable insight to the player, improve trust in the sites offering genuine content, and reduce the number of players losing money on sites offering fake games.
The Gamecheck platform is designed for ease of use, enabling players to input an online casino's URL and receive immediate information about the authenticity or otherwise of its games. The platform directs players away from fraudulent sites, thereby enhancing the reputation and trustworthiness of compliant operators.
Gamecheck's online database focuses on the authenticity of games offered by online casinos, and includes information on both authentic and fake games. Gamecheck's database allows players to check whether the games they are playing are genuine or fake, and is an excellent tool for preventing fraud in the online gambling industry.
Gamecheck's Comprehensive Online Database includes information about both legal and fraudulent sites. Here is a breakdown of what it includes:
Online Casinos with Real Games
Gamecheck verifies the authenticity of games on online casinos through investigations conducted with game providers. Online casinos that are found to be operating real games are labelled as "Real Games" in operation.
Rogue Casinos with Fake Games
Gamecheck identifies online casinos offering fake games. If even one fake game is identified, the entire online casino is flagged as operating fake games. Gamecheck checks all online casinos randomly and regularly. If an online casino is flagged for fake games but then removes them, Gamecheck will conduct a re-verification. The history of checks will show the outcome of each investigation. Gamecheck investigates any online casinos worldwide, as well as any online casino that is reported to them.
Flagging Fake Games
When an online casino is flagged as having "Fake Games", it means the online casino is offering fake games, often without the knowledge of the game provider.
Transparency
Players can see how often a check has been performed on a particular online casino through its profile page on Gamecheck. The profile indicates whether the online casino is operating real games or fake games have been detected.
Gamecheck plays a crucial role in the iGaming industry's fight against fraud.
As part of its ongoing mission, Gamecheck is set to launch the Gamecheck Seal - a blockchain-integrated verification tool. When encountering a new online casino, players can simply look for the Gamecheck Seal to confirm its authenticity.
Since cybercriminals are skilled at deception, players should always double-check. By clicking on the Gamecheck Seal, they can verify that it links directly to the Gamecheck platform. Additionally, they can cross-check the database to determine whether an online casino is real before playing.
Gamecheck’s services are designed to provide players with total peace of mind, offering a free, user-friendly search tool to verify online casinos and their games before engaging.
Over time, those online casinos that integrate the Gamecheck Seal, will build trust with their customer base, thus attracting more players and enhancing customer retention.
By empowering players with essential verification tools, Gamecheck ensures a more secure and trustworthy gaming experience. At the same time, legitimate online casinos can showcase their authenticity, while regulators and compliance professionals gain critical resources to combat fraud across the industry.
In short, Gamecheck creates a win-win scenario for everyone - except fraudulent operators.
