Unlicensed gambling in Great Britain: findings from a national representative survey of people who regularly gamble

Aims: This study develops a series of questions to measure unlicensed gambling among people who regularly gamble. We also report the results of an exploratory analysis on the profile of people who have gambled with unlicensed providers in Great Britain Methodology: We analyse data from a representative survey of people who live in Great Britain and gamble regularly (N=1,322). The questionnaire used four separate questions to measure different aspects of unlicensed gambling. We analyse the characteristics of people who report unlicensed gambling with bivariate analysis and regression models. Results: 5.7 % of participants reported any unlicensed gambling. Unlicensed gambling was associated with higher overall gambling involvement. The odds of engaging in unlicensed gambling were significantly higher among those who regularly gambled at land-based casinos or on gambling machines. Cryptocurrency gambling was the most common reason for unlicensed gambling use (54.7%), followed by self-exclusion (50.7%). Conclusions: People who gamble with unlicensed websites, do so for many reasons. In many cases, harms and gambling involvement generated within the regulated market can create demand for unlicensed gambling. When asked directly, people are unlikely to recognise whether they gamble with regulated or unlicensed providers. Our methodology was able to mitigate some of this uncertainty by combining four different questions to measure unlicensed gambling.