UK regulator survey: 2.5% of online gamblers used an illegal site in the past month
The UK Gambling Commission estimates that 2.5% of adults who gambled online in the past year used an illegal gambling website in the four weeks before being surveyed. Across all adults the figure is 0.6%, and the regulator warns that people who use such sites are more likely to be harmed.
South African players mostly use offshore sites, so the UK findings are not a direct comparison. They are still a useful reminder of the risks that come with operators outside a strong local regulator: no enforced withdrawal rules, patchy identity checks and little recourse if something goes wrong. Check any casino's licence and read our reviews before you deposit, and remember that gambling is for adults only and carries real risk.
What the survey found
The Gambling Commission published new estimates based on a year of questions added to the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, covering four quarterly waves from April 2025 to April 2026. About 2.5% of adults who had gambled online in the previous year said they used an illegal site in the four weeks before being surveyed. A further 1.5% had used one in the past 12 months but not in the last four weeks.
Among all adults, including people who never gamble, the equivalent figures were 0.6% and 0.4%. The analysis drew on 14,257 online respondents, of whom 3,569 had gambled online in the previous year. The Commission said 94.4% of respondents showed no sign of using an illegal site, and 4.6% showed some indicators without enough evidence to count them as users.
How use was measured
The regulator built an index from seven behaviours linked to illegal-site use. Examples include using a site known not to be registered with the self-exclusion scheme Gamstop, joining a site that does not ask for age or identity checks, cancelling a withdrawal and using a VPN to reach a site not available in Great Britain.
- 58% of those classed as illegal-site users said they had used a site they knew was not on Gamstop.
- 56.6% had cancelled a withdrawal before the money reached their account. Licensed UK operators have not been allowed to offer that since 2021.
- Nearly 47% said they chose a site because they knew it would not ask for age or identity verification.
Limits of the data
The Commission is open about the weak points. Only 128 respondents were classed as illegal-site users, which limits how far the breakdowns by age and sex can be trusted. Men reported higher use than women, at 0.9% against 0.4% over the previous four weeks, and use was higher among 18 to 24-year-olds across the year. The regulator says use looks low and stable overall but does not rule out heavier use in particular groups. It plans to add questions in 2027 to follow those groups.
What it means for South African players
No South African operator currently holds a licence for online casino games, so players here use offshore sites by default. The UK numbers do not describe our market, but the behaviours the Commission lists map onto real risks for anyone playing offshore: weak identity checks, withdrawals that can be reversed by the player, and no easy complaints route. Look for a clear licence, check that the operator verifies identity, and set your own deposit limits. If gambling stops being fun, help is available through the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation.
What to watch next
The Commission says it will keep working with government, industry, technology firms and financial services to disrupt illegal gambling, and a second set of survey questions is planned for 2027.