• Analysis of a sample of over 300 betting websites popular in the UK finds around 1 in every 5 visits by UK bettors is now to an illegal operator 
• Illegal betting traffic remains substantially above earlier levels despite increased enforcement activity from the Gambling Commission
• Seven-fold increase in black market betting site use for horseracing in just four years 

Monthly unique visits to illegal and unlicensed betting websites increased from 1.8 million in 2022 to more than 25 million in 2025, a study published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime has found.

The study analysed the website traffic of over 300 popular betting websites used in Britain – comprising 74 legal and 227 illegal betting websites.

The principal finding is that over the first seven months of 2026, there were 19.4 visits to illegal sites for every 100 visits to legal operators, a rate of around 1 in 5.

Customers are also spending longer on illegal and unlicenced sites. Between October 2024 and July 2026, average visit duration rose by 32%, from 5 minutes 38 seconds to 7 minutes 25 seconds. Pages viewed per visit increased by 34%, from 5.19 to 6.98.

Furthermore, follow-up analysis is provided on the 32 illegal and unlicensed websites taking bets on British racing featured in the previous 2025 study conducted by the IFHA . According to the latest report, between January and July 2026 these sites attracted 6.8 visits for every 100 visits to licensed sites, almost seven times the 0.97 rate recorded in late 2021.

The findings come despite increased enforcement activity. Since April 2024, the Gambling Commission has issued more than 3,100 cease-and-desist or disruption notices and removed almost 288,000 URLs. Even with this, traffic to illegal and unlicenced sites remains well above its 2021 figure.

During the same period, the legal online betting market has been forced to contend with a slew of regulatory and tax measures that followed the 2023 Gambling White Paper.

The legal market has moved unevenly in the subsequent years, with turnover on live event betting having fallen – this is typified by online racing turnover on all horseracing having reduced by over £2bn since its 2021-22 peak – while online casino products have been more resilient and even see shown signs of growth.

The study underlines the need for coordinated action to tackle this growing threat to both consumer safety, the integrity of British sports and public finances and calls for Government, industry, payment providers and tech companies to all come together with a shared goal of reducing black market leakage.

The IFHA conclude that success in this area must be measured by sustained reductions in illegal traffic rather than the number of notices issued or URLs removed.

These findings come as the Government steps up its activity to tackle the betting black market, with HM Treasury awarding the Gambling Commission £26m at the 2025 Budget and the creation of the DCMS Illegal Gambling Taskforce in January 2026. A consultation was also launched over the summer proposing a ban on all sponsorship and advertising from unlicensed operators, an approach that the British Horseracing Authority supports.

Brant Dunshea, Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority said: “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.

“This research provides worrying evidence that those concerns are now being realised, with an increasing number of consumers seemingly conducting their betting with illegal operators.

“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.

“We recognise the Commission’s recent increase in enforcement activity, but we will be sharing these findings with Government and urging it to work with us to keep bettors within the regulated market as this leakage continues to grow.

“While the taskforce’s creation was welcomed as a positive development, it is over nine months since that initial announcement was made, and 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.

“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.”

Notes to editors:

1. The IFHA’s full report can be read here.

2. The IFHA Council on Anti-Illegal Betting & Related Crime is a think tank comprised of members from organisations engaged in horse racing and sports integrity, law enforcement, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and academia. Its purpose is to foster and enhance international co-operation among horse racing operators, regulators, intergovernmental organisations, government agencies and NGOs in order to better combat the threat of illegal betting and other crime risks to the integrity of the sport of horse racing in particular, as well as sport in general. With a global impact and a global set of stakeholders, and by addressing global issues affecting racing and other sports relating to illegal betting and financial crime, the Council recently moved under the auspices of the IFHA to reflect the global nature of the illegal betting problem that all sports now currently face.