The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has warned that the illegal gambling market could have made significant gains during the Cheltenham Festival, with estimates suggesting up to £60 million may have been wagered with unlicensed operators across the four-day event, roughly £2 million per race.
Britain’s total annual horse racing betting turnover is estimated at around £11 billion, with approximately £8 billion placed through the regulated online sector.
Cheltenham itself is frequently reported to generate up to £1 billion in total betting activity during the Festival.
Recent research indicates that the illegal market now represents about 6% of all betting stakes in the UK. When applied to Cheltenham alone, that percentage suggests as much as £60 million could have been staked through unregulated channels during the week.
The BGC has raised concerns that higher betting taxes and the introduction of more demanding financial affordability checks, requiring customers to provide sensitive documents such as bank statements, could unintentionally encourage some players to turn to illegal operators, where there are no consumer safeguards.
These findings underline the expanding challenge posed by criminal gambling networks that attempt to exploit major sporting events while operating outside any regulatory framework.
Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, commented: “Cheltenham is the biggest week of the year for racing fans and millions of bets are safely placed with regulated operators.
“But the criminal, harmful black market also tried to cash in, targeting punters with illegal betting that offers none of the protections provided in the regulated sector.
“Rising taxes and increasingly intrusive checks will only make it harder for legitimate operators to compete.
“The priority must be keeping punters in the regulated market where protections are in place, rather than driving them towards harmful unregulated operators.”
In Britain, licensed betting companies must comply with strict rules covering age verification, anti-money laundering procedures, and responsible gambling measures.
Illegal operators, however, function entirely outside these requirements and provide no formal consumer protections.
The regulated gambling industry supports more than 109,000 jobs, contributes approximately £6.8 billion to the UK economy, and generates around £4 billion in annual tax revenue, while also delivering substantial funding to British horseracing.
The BGC emphasised that disrupting and dismantling the criminal networks behind black market gambling platforms should remain a key priority to ensure customers continue betting within a regulated environment that offers proper oversight and protection.