The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), which works on racing regulation and integrity worldwide, has published a new report on illegal betting website traffic in the UK – see more details:

  • UK illegal betting traffic remains well above 2022 levels.  The study covers 301 betting websites, including 227 illegal sites. It examines UK traffic from August 2021 to July 2026.
  • Illegal traffic: Visits to illegal betting sites increased from 1.79 million in 2022 to 25.13 million in 2025. January to July 2026 recorded 11.01 million visits. The annualised estimate for 2026 stands at 18.9 million.
  • Legal versus illegal: Licensed websites recorded 94.58 million visits in 2025, down from 143.84 million in 2022. Illegal traffic increased fourteenfold, while legal traffic fell 34%. Legal visits are estimated at 97.5 million for 2026.
  • Traffic ratio: Illegal sites recorded 19.4 visits per 100 legal visits in the first seven months of 2026. This compares with 26.6 in 2025 and 1.2 in 2022. These figures measure website traffic, not betting market share.
  • Customer engagement: UK illegal betting sites recorded longer visits in 2026. Average visit duration increased to 7 minutes 25 seconds, while pages per visit rose to 6.98. Licensed sites still recorded higher engagement figures.
  • Enforcement: Since April 2024, the UK Gambling Commission has issued more than 3,100 disruption notices. Almost 288,000 URLs were removed following referrals to search engines. The report states: “Enforcement activity is not yet enforcement success.”
  • Regulation: Licensed operators face additional checks and deposit limits. From April 2027, remote betting duty will increase from 15% to 25% for most bets. Remote bets on UK horse racing will remain taxed at 15%.
  • Horse racing: The report comes from the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). It notes that illegal operators do not contribute to the British Horserace Betting Levy. They also do not participate in sharing suspicious betting information.

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