👻 United Kingdom🇬🇧: gambling activity on illegal sites is rising and the regulator attributes it to VPN usage

👻 United Kingdom🇬🇧: gambling activity on illegal sites is rising and the regulator attributes it to VPN usage

In November 2025, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) acknowledged that it cannot reliably estimate how much citizens spend with unlicensed operators. Now, analysts state that the number of players also cannot be accurately determined.

💠 The Commission’s latest data series was updated in February 2026. Estimated time spent (in minutes) on illegal gambling websites was used as a proxy for consumer engagement. The data indicates volatile user activity (the spike observed in autumn 2024 did not recur), with no clear seasonal patterns or sustained growth trend.

💠 Researchers initially suspected flaws in the system, but several previously overlooked factors were later identified:

🔺 Web traffic analysis does not capture all access routes to illegal gambling (such as mobile apps or direct connections). As a result, this method is more suitable for identifying trends than for measuring precise participation volumes.

🔺 It was also observed that Ofcom and analysts from Similarweb have data indicating a 40% increase in VPN usage since July 2025. This led the UKGC to incorporate VPN usage scenarios into its analysis and to widen statistical confidence intervals from mid-2025 onward.

💠 From a regulatory standpoint, the United Kingdom enacted the “Online Safety Act” in July 2025. The tightening of online controls and blocking measures was subsequently accompanied by a rise in VPN adoption.

#news #Europe #gambling #regulation

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