UK Gambling Commission Study Tracks Overlap Between Illegal Operators and Licensed Gambling Platforms

The UK Gambling Commission released new research based on Open Banking transaction data on 28 October 2026, showing that individuals in Great Britain who engage with illegal gambling operators typically do not abandon licensed operators, and among 179 people with detected illegal transactions including 122 with repeated ones, 91% also used licensed gambling sites with no substantial decline in licensed activity after their first known illegal payment.

Those using illegal sites showed significantly higher rates of problem gambling as 45% scored 8 or higher on the PGSI compared to 6% for licensed-only gamblers, and the analysis forms part of ongoing illegal market work that draws directly from transaction records to map behaviour patterns across both regulated and unregulated channels.

Research Methodology and Data Sources

Open Banking transaction data provided the foundation for identifying illegal gambling activity because it captures payment flows that bypass traditional financial oversight mechanisms, and researchers cross-referenced these records against known licensed operator identifiers to separate the two categories while tracking individual accounts over time to observe any shifts in spending after first contact with illegal sites.

The sample covered 179 people who made at least one detected illegal transaction, with 122 of them showing repeated activity, and the study measured licensed gambling participation both before and after the initial illegal payment to determine whether users reduced their engagement with regulated platforms.

Key Usage Patterns Identified

Data indicates that 91% of the individuals continued using licensed gambling sites after engaging with illegal operators, and licensed activity showed no substantial decline following the first known illegal payment, which suggests that the two forms of gambling coexist rather than substitute for one another in most cases examined.

Repeated illegal transactions appeared in 122 of the 179 accounts, yet the volume and frequency of licensed play remained consistent across the observed period, and this pattern held even among those who demonstrated multiple contacts with unregulated operators.

Problem Gambling Indicators

Problem gambling rates diverged sharply between groups, with 45% of those who used illegal sites scoring 8 or higher on the Problem Gambling Severity Index, whereas only 6% of licensed-only gamblers reached that threshold, and the difference points to elevated risk levels among the mixed-use cohort without implying causation from the data alone.

Researchers noted that the higher PGSI scores appeared consistently across the illegal user group regardless of transaction frequency, and the figures reveal that problem gambling indicators remained stable even after individuals began interacting with unregulated platforms, which allows for clearer comparison against the broader licensed user population.

Implications for Regulatory Monitoring

The findings contribute to ongoing illegal market work by demonstrating that detection of illegal transactions does not automatically signal a complete shift away from the regulated sector, and regulators can therefore maintain visibility into user behaviour through existing licensed operator reporting channels while addressing the separate risks associated with unregulated sites.

Transaction data analysis continues to serve as a primary tool for identifying illegal activity because it provides verifiable payment trails that traditional surveys cannot match in precision, and the October 2026 release adds to a growing body of evidence that tracks how Great Britain residents navigate between licensed and unlicensed options over extended periods.

Conclusion

The UK Gambling Commission research based on Open Banking data establishes that most individuals who engage with illegal operators maintain their use of licensed platforms without measurable reduction, while also documenting elevated problem gambling scores within that group, and these factual patterns supply regulators with additional context for monitoring both market segments as enforcement efforts proceed.