Legislation

UK – UKGC Chief Executive accuses report of exaggerating black market scale

By Lewis - 19 January 2021

In a letter to a cross-party group of MPs examining gambling-related harm, UKGC chief executive Neil McArthur has said that a report commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council and written by consultancy firm PwC is not consistent with the ‘intelligence picture’.

According to the Guardian, McArthur said the report does not distinguish between real consumers using black market sites and bots or other automated systems and the report should be treated cautiously as it lacked any evidence to show an increase in illicit betting.

“We know that licensed operators and their trade bodies are concerned about the impact of the illegal market, but our own evidence suggests that the impact may be being exaggerated,” McArthur said.

The Chief Executive said black market concerns should be kept in proportion “despite reports from consultants paid for by the industry, and should not distract from the need to continue to drive up standards and make gambling safer in the regulated market.

“In any event, we are not convinced by the argument that suggests that raising standards in the licensed market will prompt consumers to gamble with illegal operators.”

Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who chairs the MPs’ group that received the letter, said: “The online gambling industry talks up the threat of the black market in an attempt to resist regulation and protect its profits, but trying to hijack the debate by manufacturing dodgy dossiers of information to further their own ends is an incredibly transparent tactic and will not be any kind of excuse to hold down standards.”