BGC study once again suggests UK gamblers fear restrictions on betting

According to a recent poll by YouGov for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), almost 80% of gamblers fear that limits on gambling would likely push customers to risky, unregulated black market gambling sites in the UK.

In the meantime, when asked to submit “private financial documents” to place a bet, 70% of British citizens said they would think about using a different bookmaker.

Interestingly, the number of participants in the survey was not made clear. It was conducted as gamblers get ready for the Cheltenham Festival, with this being far from the first time the BGC has pushed a message like this.

Cheltenham will draw around 280,000 visitors and bring in an estimated £274m ($328m) to the local economy. Over the course of the four days of racing, an estimated $1bn will be bet.

Michael Dugher, BGC CEO, said: “This research is the latest in a series outlining the genuine concerns of millions of ordinary gamblers who feel that the people making decisions about the future of betting are out of touch and have never had a bet in their lives.

“Any intrusive and blanket approach risks having the opposite effect by pushing gamblers into the unsafe, unregulated black market which offers no safer gambling tools like time outs and deposit limits doesn’t support the economy or sport and doesn’t pay a penny in tax.”

Meanwhile, the independent regulator claims the UK’s problem gambling rates are low by global standards. The Gambling Commission’s most recent statistics reveal that 0.2% of adults, down from 0.3% the year before, are problem gamblers.