The British game commission report explores motivations behind the illegal online game games
The British Games of Chance Commission has published the first report in a new series on online illegal game, examining why people choose websites without license and how they use them. The report, called “illegal online game: awareness of consumers, engines and motivations”, was assembled with Yonder Consulting to better understand how consumers interact with these sites.
Research has paid attention to four main groups of people who turn to platforms without license. Auto-excuses, qualified defenders, social explorers and accidental tourists are described as “variable awareness levels with illegal websites, different entry ways in websites and motivations to use them.” In the past year, online gaming revenues from the United Kingdom have jumped 7% in the fourth quarter, with other key numbers climbing also, according to commission data.
The game commission report finds that players lack awareness on black market sites
One of the main questions raised by the regulator is that many people do not know illegal operators. The report has shown that most players had very little knowledge of license sites, and some have admitted that they did not know how to check if a business really owned a license.
A woman aged 55 to 64, who described himself as self-exclusion, explained: “I did not care with whom I played, I just wanted somewhere where I could play slots.”
An “ qualified defender ” aged 25 to 34, spoke of what attracted him to online communities: “I like to follow the conversation and see what people recommend on Reddit. You never know what new thing that someone could find to try. ”
Social explorers tend to count on the peers of the trust before committing money. As an respondent said: “I agree with the use of these sites. As long as I know, they work and I know that my friends would not recommend a site if they have not tried it first. ”
Accidental tourists, however, often do not realize that they use operators without license. One of them said: “I did not know that these sites could be without license. I did not even think of being based in the United Kingdom or otherwise.”
The report clearly indicates that most users do not completely move away from approved operators. “Commitment to illegal game websites is generally additional rather than exclusive, most web users of illegal games reporting expense expenditure or money services rather than illegal websites.”
People are often motivated by things like better odds, different payment options and less restrictions. Some also turn to platforms without license in order to “bypass protective measures such as self-exclusion”.
Increase regulations and the black market increases. Before the start of the anti-gambling hall and the game commission decided by 0.4% of problems was too high, use in the United Kingdom was tiny. pic.twitter.com/my36xoz6oo
– Chris Fawcett (@ chrisgambler247) September 19, 2025
However, the co-founder of Sharpbetting, Chris Fawcett, criticized the report. Writing on X, he said: “Increasing regulations and the black market is not developing.
That said, the Commission says that this is only the start of its work to monitor illegal game behavior. He has promised more research through the investigation into games of chance for Great Britain and suggested that he could also launch a public awareness campaign: “Our global objective is to continue to build a basis for evidence that understands the understanding of the consumer’s perspective … This will help us to better understand the areas of this problem that require regulatory action.”
Star image: Canva
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