BGC Warns of Illegal Betting at Derby Festival

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has cautioned that illegal gambling operators may handle as much as £10 million in bets during this weekend’s Betfred Derby Festival, with around £5 million expected to be wagered on the Derby race alone.

The trade body said unlicensed operators are likely to use the popularity of the two-day Epsom event to attract bettors away from the regulated market during one of the biggest weekends in British horseracing.

First staged in 1780, the Derby remains one of the UK’s most recognised flat racing events and continues to generate significant betting interest nationwide.

According to the BGC, illegal gambling sites are increasingly using major sporting occasions to promote unregulated betting services that operate outside British licensing requirements.

The warning comes after research from WARC reported that nearly half of all gambling advertising expenditure in the UK is linked to unregulated operators. Additional forecasts from H2 Gambling Capital estimate that betting activity with illegal operators in Britain could rise from £17 billion this year to more than £33 billion by 2028.

The BGC also argued that higher taxes on betting companies and proposed affordability checks requiring some consumers to provide financial documents could reduce the competitiveness of licensed operators compared to offshore alternatives.

Licensed gambling companies in the UK must comply with strict rules covering areas such as age verification, anti-money laundering procedures and safer gambling protections, standards that illegal operators are not required to follow.

The organisation added that the regulated betting and gaming industry supports more than 109,000 jobs, contributes £6.8 billion to the UK economy and generates over £4 billion annually in tax revenues. British horseracing also benefits from funding through sponsorship agreements, levy contributions and commercial partnerships linked to the regulated sector.

Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said that while millions of consumers will place bets safely with licensed operators during the Derby Festival, illegal gambling businesses will also attempt to profit from the event without offering the same consumer safeguards.