Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the amount of money (a) spent and (b) lost on illegal gambling sites in each of the last five years.

The issue of illegal gambling is a concern for this Government and we are committed to working closely with the Gambling Commission, the statutory regulator for gambling in Great Britain, to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Commission continues to monitor this area closely and take action against unlicensed operators where needed.

Estimating the size of the illegal gambling market is difficult due to the changing nature of the sites and channels through which customers are able to access illegal activity. While research in this space is improving, further research is required to confidently estimate the extent of illegal gambling within Great Britain, who is engaging with it, and the impact that it is having. The Gambling Commission is working to improve its evidence base around the unlicensed gambling market, using web traffic data and gambling behaviour data to estimate the size of the online unlicensed market and conducting qualitative research to understand consumer motivations for participation in illegal gambling. The Commission published a blog outlining its approach in October 2024.

Gambling regulation is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, where it falls under The Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and The Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Amendment) Act 2022.