Entain Supports Stricter Measures Against the UK Black Market

British gambling giant Entain has backed a new report, which sets out “highly effective countermeasures” against the black market. Some of the highlights include proposals to blacklist offshore operators, restrict marketing and payment provision and boost regulatory enforcement efforts.

Overall, Entain and the report argued that the government should implement new policies amid growing competition from the black market.

Entain Believes Changes Are Needed

Compiled by industry consultancy Regulus Partners, the report is supported by Entain, which agrees with its findings. The gaming group emphasized that the measures outlined in the report could help the UK and other markets crack down on unlicensed gambling.

Based on a recent report by Frontier Economics for the Betting and Gaming Council, Regulus Partners proposed that its measures would help close a tax gap of some £340 million for the UK Exchequer across the next parliament. For context, the Frontier Economics report suggested a yearly gap of approximately £70 million caused by the presence of offshore operators.

Regulus Partners said that the United Kingdom’s moderate regulatory approach has been unable to inhibit the growth of the black market. The firm suggested that France and Germany are having it even worse as the two countries’ black markets command market shares of 45% and 60% respectively.

Regulus Partners Proposes Highly Achievable Measures

Regulus Partners suggested that a more drastic approach is needed. It proposed five “highly achievable” measures, which include the following:

• Blocking payments to black market operators via payment service providers and collaboration with the banking sector.
• Restrictions on advertising on social media and mainstream media as a whole.
• Blocking the IP addresses of violators and leveraging the Online Safety Act to make black market access more onerous
• Stepping up criminal enforcement to make violating the rules more unsustainable
• Blacklisting violators and familiarizing consumers with the blacklist

Entain’s chairman, Barry Gibson, added that the regulated product must remain attractive in order to compete with the black market.

Regulus Partners’ findings were reported soon after the publishing of the Frontier Economics study which suggested that British players spend some £4.3 billion on the black market every year, generating a tax gap of approximately £67.7 million a year.

Gibson noted that these concerning figures highlight the need to act fast and tackle illegal operations. This would also reduce gambling-related crime and raise money, which could be spent on healthcare, education and infrastructure.

Gibson concluded: “This is a pivotal moment; if we go down the route of further tax increases rather than tackle the black market, it will drive even more customers towards unscrupulous operators and damage responsible, regulated businesses.”