UK Gambling Commission Publishes First Open Banking Study on Illegal Market Activity

Data released by the UK Gambling Commission on October 28 2026 shows that repeated payments to unlicensed operators rarely displace activity on licensed platforms, with 91 percent of those individuals continuing to place bets through regulated sites as well; the analysis found no meaningful reduction in licensed gambling volume once an illegal payment had been detected, which suggests the two forms of play often coexist rather than compete.

Study Methodology and Scope

The report draws on open banking transaction records to identify patterns among consumers who sent funds to operators without a UK licence, and it tracks their behaviour both before and after those transactions occurred; researchers examined accounts showing multiple such payments, then compared activity levels on licensed platforms to establish whether illegal sites were acting as substitutes or supplements.

Figures indicate that the majority of people who engaged with unlicensed operators maintained their existing patterns of play on regulated sites, and this continuity held steady even after the first detected illegal transaction; the absence of any significant drop in licensed activity points to a supplementary relationship rather than displacement.

Problem Gambling Indicators

One of the clearest distinctions appears in problem gambling scores, where 45 percent of those repeatedly sending money to unlicensed operators recorded a PGSI score of eight or higher, compared with just 6 percent among the broader group of licensed gamblers included in the dataset; this gap remains consistent across the analysed cohort and highlights elevated risk associated with the illegal segment.

The Problem Gambling Severity Index, or PGSI, measures behaviours and consequences linked to gambling harm on a standardised scale, and the study applied this tool to both groups to allow direct comparison; observers note that the nearly eight-fold difference in high-risk scores underscores the concentrated presence of problem gambling indicators within the illegal cohort.

Key Patterns in Consumer Behaviour

Transaction data further reveals that illegal activity tended to occur alongside rather than instead of regulated play, and this pattern persisted across multiple payment cycles; those who continued using licensed sites showed no broad retreat from those platforms once illegal options entered their transaction history.

Researchers tracked account-level movements over time and found that licensed gambling volumes stayed relatively stable, which aligns with the view that many consumers treat unlicensed sites as an additional channel rather than a replacement; the report stops short of claiming causation yet presents the observed stability as a central finding.

Context Within November 2026 Regulatory Discussions

By early November 2026 the Commission’s open banking analysis has already been referenced in ongoing policy conversations around enforcement priorities and consumer protection measures; regulators and industry participants continue to examine how the documented overlap between licensed and unlicensed play might shape future interventions.

The study provides the first large-scale view of actual payment flows rather than survey-based estimates, and this data-driven approach has drawn attention from those tracking black-market trends throughout the final months of the year; further updates on enforcement outcomes are expected as the Commission incorporates the findings into its operational planning.

Conclusion

The October 28 2026 release marks the initial application of open banking records to illegal gambling monitoring in the UK, and the results establish a baseline for understanding how consumers interact with both licensed and unlicensed operators; the 91 percent overlap figure, the unchanged licensed volumes, and the elevated PGSI scores together form the core evidence presented in the report.

Those reviewing the analysis can access the full document through the Gambling Commission’s official channels, where the illegal gambling findings from an open banking data analysis remain available for detailed examination; subsequent reports are anticipated as additional transaction data becomes accessible.