BGC Warns Illegal Operators Took Up to £60 Million During Cheltenham Festival

The latest warning from the Betting & Gaming Council puts fresh pressure on the black market issue in British betting. According to the trade body, illegal operators may have taken up to £60 million during the Cheltenham Festival, one of the busiest weeks in the horse racing calendar.

Good to Know

• The Betting & Gaming Council estimates up to £60 million may have been staked with illegal operators during Cheltenham Festival
• The group said around £2 million per race may have gone to the black market
• The estimate is based on data suggesting illegal betting accounts for roughly 6% of total wagers in Great Britain

BGC Says Illegal Operators Targeted Cheltenham Festival Bettors

Cheltenham Festival attracts huge betting volume every year, with total stakes around £1 billion. Against that backdrop, the Betting & Gaming Council said criminal operators were also active during the event and may have taken a sizeable share of betting activity away from the licensed market.

Using recent market data, the BGC estimated that around £2 million per race may have been placed with illegal operators. Across the full festival, that pushed the total potential black market handle to as much as £60 million.

For racing, that is not just a headline number. It points to money flowing outside licensed betting sites, outside safer gambling tools, and outside the consumer protections that regulated bookmakers are required to provide in Great Britain.

BGC CEO Grainne Hurst tied the warning directly to player safety as well as pressure on the legal sector. “Cheltenham is the biggest week of the year for racing fans and millions placed bets safely with regulated operators,” Hurst said.

“But the criminal harmful black market also tried to cash in, targeting punters with illegal betting that offers none of the protections provided in the regulated sector.”

The BGC is also linking the problem to policy pressure in Great Britain. Industry voices have argued for some time that tighter rules, especially affordability checks, risk pushing more bettors toward offshore and unlicensed sites that ask fewer questions and apply fewer controls.

That argument has been especially loud in horse racing. After the 2023 white paper, many in the sector warned that stricter checks could hit racing hard if regular bettors decide to leave licensed platforms rather than submit personal financial documents.

In 2024, the Jockey Club said affordability checks could cost the racing sector £250 million over five years. The concern was simple: some customers may choose illegal operators instead of staying in the regulated market.

Tax policy is adding another layer. The UK government has approved an increase in remote gaming duty from 21% to 40%, due to start in April. Remote sports betting duty is also scheduled to rise from 15% to 25% in 2027.

Hurst argued that the legal market is being squeezed from more than one side: 

“Rising taxes and increasingly intrusive checks will only make it harder for legitimate operators to compete.”

“The priority must be keeping punters in the regulated market where protections are in place, rather than driving them towards harmful unregulated operators.”

That message sits at the center of the wider debate now shaping British betting, online gambling, horse racing, affordability checks, betting tax policy, black market gambling, and player protection. For licensed operators and racing groups, the concern is no longer only about compliance costs. It is also about whether the regulated market can stay attractive enough to hold on to customers.

The BGC said stakeholders should increase efforts against criminal gangs operating illegal betting sites, with the goal of protecting consumers and limiting further damage to the racing sector.