BGC flags £500m black-market risk in jumps

iGaming Business reported that Britain’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has cautioned that unlicensed bookmakers could handle roughly £500 million in wagers during the 2026–27 jump racing season in the UK, including around £10 million linked to this weekend’s Cheltenham November Meeting.

What happened

The BGC says illegal operators are poised to capture significant betting volumes across the core of the jumps calendar, with the King George VI Chase, the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National still ahead. The trade body issued the warning in the run-up to Safer Gambling Week (16–22 November) and did so without detailing how the £500 million estimate was calculated.

According to the BGC, licensed bookmakers are required to apply age verification, anti-money laundering checks and safer gambling tools. By contrast, it says illegal sites do not offer these protections, do not pay UK tax and do not contribute to British racing. BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst said the council will continue working with government and the Gambling Commission to tackle unlicensed activity.

Advertising and media signals were also highlighted. The BGC cited WARC analysis indicating that unregulated operators are responsible for close to half of UK gambling advertising spend. It also pointed to H2 Gambling Capital forecasts that illegal stakes could rise from £17 billion in 2026 to more than £33 billion by 2028.

Independent web-traffic research underlines the same direction. IFHA data published last week showed unlicensed sites drew 19.4 visits for every 100 visits to licensed sites across the first seven months of 2026, compared with around 1 per 100 in late 2021. Looking at 32 sites accepting bets on British racing, the ratio increased by almost seven times over that period.

Regulatory enforcement has been active but has not yet shifted the trend. Since April 2024, the Gambling Commission has issued more than 3,100 cease-and-desist or disruption notices, yet the IFHA reported no lasting drop in illegal traffic. British Horseracing Authority chief executive Brant Dunshea warned that customers moving to unlicensed operators face higher risks and weaker consumer protections.

Concerns about marketing channel abuse extend beyond the UK. Anders Dorph, head of Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden, has said illegal gambling promotions are widespread on social media and argued that progress now depends heavily on major platforms and payment providers. On tax, a September report for Euromat by Regulus Partners and Helios estimated Europe’s black market has expanded at about 18% per year since 2019, and warned that April’s increase in UK remote gaming duty from 21% to 40% could drive the UK black market towards €1 billion. Looking ahead, online betting duty is due to move to 25% in April 2027, while remote wagers on UK horse racing are set to remain at 15%.

The BGC says its members collectively provide more than £350 million annually to British horse racing.

Why it matters

• For licensed UK operators, the BGC’s estimate signals a potential displacement of betting activity during the most visible stretch of the jumps season. If even a slice of the projected amounts ends up offshore, there could be pressure on tax receipts and the sport’s funding from regulated firms.
• For bettors, the shift highlighted by ad spend and traffic data may mean more exposure to sites that lack age checks, financial crime controls and safer gambling tools. That could increase the likelihood of disputes and reduce avenues for redress.
• For the sport, a sustained move to unregulated channels could in time weaken the link between betting and racing’s finances, particularly around marquee events where engagement peaks.
• For policy, duty changes and platform enforcement may influence whether channelisation improves or deteriorates. Pricing, product depth and visibility of legal brands could be affected as operators weigh tax and compliance costs.

If you are planning bets during the big meetings, it may help to refresh the basics using our guide to UK sports betting and to verify sites through our licence check.

What to watch

1. How Safer Gambling Week messaging lands with racing audiences, and whether licensed brands see changes in sign-ups, spend or channelisation through the winter.
2. Any Gambling Commission updates on blocking, takedowns and collaboration with platforms or payment providers targeting illegal ads and transactions.
3. New datapoints from WARC, H2 Gambling Capital or IFHA showing whether illegal ad share and traffic continue to grow, stabilise or retreat.
4. Operator responses to tax changes, including any adjustments to pricing or product that could influence where UK bettors choose to place wagers during flagship races like Cheltenham and Aintree.

Further reading

• Understand common bet types and markets: /sports-betting
• Check if a site is licensed in the UK: /trust/licence-check
• Each-way explained for big-field races: [/guides/what-is-an-each-way-bet-uk-guide](/guides/what-is-an-each-way-bet-uk-guide)

Source

This article is based on the report "Black market set to take £500 million on jump racing season, BGC warns" published by iGaming Business on 13 November 2026.

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