Almost £10m may have been bet illegally on the Grand National, industry group says
The Betting and Gaming Council says the race’s popularity is leading to an increase in unlicensed betting.
UK.- Industry association The Betting and Gaming Council has estimated that £9.4m may have been bet illegally on Saturday’s Grand National at Aintree. It claims that there has been a rise in the amount bet on the popular horseracing fixture via black market operators.
The BGC says that each year around 600 million people across 140 countries tune in to watch the Grand National, and that an estimated 13 million adults in the UK bet on the headline race.
It estimates that £250m will have been staked legally in Britain on the main event, generating an estimated £3m in tax revenues for the Treasury and £2m in contributions to the horseracing levy to support the sport. However, the event is being “subverted” by illegal operators, the BGC says.
CEO Grainne Hurst said: “Almost £10m is predicted to be staked illegally on the unsafe, growing gambling black market at this year’s Grand National, fuelling crime, undermining player protection measures, while sucking vital cash from sport and the Treasury.
“The Grand National is one of the precious few sporting events in this country with the ability to unite the entire nation around a single spectacle. It is the nation’s punt, and it is being subverted by illegal operators offering illicit gambling to thousands of punters, many of whom are vulnerable to harm.
“This should serve as a wake-up call for Government who must guard against overbearing regulations which risk driving punters into the arms of illegal operators. Balanced regulations and a stable tax regime are the best defences against this black market menace, which now poses an existential threat to British racing.”
Last year the, BGC released a study which found 1.5m Brits stake up to £4.3bn on the gambling black market each year. According to the research, more than one in five 18-24-year-olds who bet already use unregulated options online and via secure online messaging apps. Researchers found the sums bet on the black market online and offline could deprive the Treasury of up to £335m over the course of a five-year Parliament if action is not taken.
In February, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities released a new study on the scale of illegal betting on racing. It found the number of unique customers visiting 22 unlicensed sites taking bets on British racing had grown by 522 per cent between August 2021 and September 2024.
By contrast, unique visitor traffic to ten legal websites offering betting on horseracing had grown by 49 per cent over the same period. Total visitor traffic from the UK to the unlicensed betting websites had grown by 131 per cent since August 2021, compared to 25 per cent to legal bookmakers.
The BGC, which represents over 90 per cent of the UK regulated betting and gaming sector including online, casinos and betting shops, argues that clear, balanced regulations and stable taxation is the best defence against the black market.
