UK Gambling Commission Analysis Tracks Open Banking Data on Illegal Gambling Payments

The UK Gambling Commission released findings from an open banking data analysis that examined payments made by 179 individuals to suspected illegal gambling operators; researchers identified 3,426 transactions in total and observed that 91 percent of those individuals also placed bets with licensed operators throughout the same period.

Data showed no substantial decline in activity with licensed operators after the first recorded payments to illegal sites; instead patterns indicated that illegal gambling often supplemented rather than replaced regulated play for the group under review.

Methodology Behind the Open Banking Review

Commission analysts accessed anonymized transaction records to isolate payments directed toward operators without UK licenses; they cross-referenced those records against accounts that also showed activity at Gambling Commission regulated platforms; this approach allowed observers to measure overlap without relying on self-reported behavior.

Researchers selected the sample from individuals who triggered detection flags during a defined monitoring window; the resulting dataset captured both the volume of illegal transactions and the timing relative to licensed gambling sessions; figures reveal that the 179 people maintained consistent engagement with legal sites even after initiating payments elsewhere.

Problem Gambling Severity Index Scores in the Sample

Among the 179 individuals, 45 percent recorded a Problem Gambling Severity Index score of 8 or higher; in comparison the broader population of licensed gamblers shows a rate of 6 percent at the same threshold; the elevated figure points to stronger associations between illegal site use and higher-risk gambling behavior.

Experts note that the PGSI metric evaluates factors such as loss of control, chasing losses, and negative consequences; those who used suspected illegal operators displayed more frequent endorsement of these items; yet the analysis stops short of establishing causation and instead documents the co-occurrence of these patterns.

Transaction Volume and Timing Patterns

The 3,426 transactions averaged roughly 19 payments per individual across the observed period; researchers tracked dates to determine whether activity on licensed sites dropped after the initial illegal payment; results showed stability rather than substitution; licensed gambling volumes remained comparable before and after the first detected transfer.

Commission staff highlighted that many participants continued depositing and withdrawing from regulated accounts at similar frequencies; this continuity suggests that illegal operators captured additional spend without displacing existing legal play; the report titled Illegal gambling - Findings from an open banking data analysis supplies the full methodology and tables supporting these observations.

Overlap Between Licensed and Unlicensed Activity

Observers found that 91 percent of the sample maintained accounts with at least one licensed operator while also sending funds to suspected illegal sites; this dual engagement occurred across different game types and bet sizes; data indicates the two forms of gambling ran in parallel for most participants.

Analysts examined sequences of transactions to check for displacement effects; no measurable reduction appeared in licensed deposits or stakes following the first illegal payment; instead total gambling exposure increased for the group as a whole; such patterns align with earlier commission statements that illegal markets often attract individuals already active in the regulated sector.

Regulatory Context and Data Limitations

The open banking dataset provides visibility into payment flows that traditional surveys cannot capture; however the sample represents only those individuals whose transactions triggered detection algorithms; commission researchers caution that broader population estimates require additional data sources; the current analysis therefore focuses on observed behaviors within the flagged cohort.

October 2026 marks continued monitoring of these trends as new payment rails and operator lists enter review; updates to the detection parameters may expand the number of tracked accounts in future releases; stakeholders continue to receive periodic briefings on how illegal activity intersects with the licensed market.

Conclusion

The UK Gambling Commission study supplies concrete transaction-level evidence that illegal gambling frequently coexists with licensed play; 91 percent overlap, stable licensed volumes, and elevated PGSI scores form the core observations from the 179-person sample; further releases will track whether these ratios shift as enforcement and detection methods evolve.