Business · Companies · 4 hrs ago
Illegal betting site visits surge as British racing warns of rising risks
A study found illegal betting site traffic rose sharply between 2022 and 2025, while visits to licensed betting sites fell.
The research examined 301 betting websites, including 227 it classified as illegal.
Illegal sites taking bets on British horse racing drew nearly seven times more traffic than in late 2021, measured against visits to legal sites.
The British Horseracing Authority says this suggests more people are betting with illegal operators.
Customers using unlicensed sites face greater risks and fewer protections, and those businesses contribute nothing to British racing or public finances.
The BHA says progress against illegal operators has been limited and wants to work with Gambling Minister Vicky Foxcroft to speed up action.
The British Horseracing Authority says visits to monitored unlicensed betting sites have risen sharply, raising concerns about risks to consumers and British racing.
A report found that traffic to illegal platforms grew from 1.8 million visits in 2022 to more than 25 million in 2025.
Visits to licensed betting sites fell by 34% over the same period.
BHA Chief Executive Brant Dunshea said consumers moving to illegal operators face greater risks and fewer protections.
- Who
- The British Horseracing Authority raised the concerns, drawing on a report by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime.
- What
- Visits to monitored illegal betting sites increased, while visits to licensed betting sites declined.
- When
- The report compared online traffic from 2022 to 2025 and also compared monitored-site visits with late 2021.
- Where
- The United Kingdom.
- Why
- The BHA says the growth in illegal betting increases risks for consumers and deprives British racing and public finances of contributions.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The 32 monitored sites taking bets specifically on British horseracing recorded 0.97 visits per 100 legal visits.
Online traffic to illegal platforms stood at 1.8 million visits.
Online traffic to illegal platforms had risen to more than 25 million visits.
The Independent reported the BHA’s concerns about growth in illegal betting.
- Illegal-platform traffic
- More than 25 million visits in 2025, up from 1.8 million in 2022
- Licensed-site traffic
- Visits fell by 34% between 2022 and 2025
- Monitored sites
- 301 websites analysed: 74 legal and 227 illegal
- British racing sites
- 6.8 visits per 100 legal visits, compared with 0.97 in late 2021
- BHA Chief Executive
- Brant Dunshea
What people are saying
Every racing customer who moves from a licensed operator to an illegal one faces greater risks and fewer consumer protections.
Progress so far has been limited.