Industry Update

UK Illegal Betting Traffic Surges: What New Research Means for Gambling Affiliates

Fresh UK horseracing research finds 19.4 visits to sampled unlicensed betting sites for every 100 visits to licensed operators in the first seven months of 2026, versus about one per 100 in late 2021. The findings raise important questions for gambling affiliates about licensing checks, SEO content and responsible traffic acquisition.

Medium
November 10, 2026

What happened

New UK betting-market research has put the growth of unlicensed gambling websites back in the spotlight. The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime analysed estimated visits to 301 websites used by British bettors, comprising 74 licensed and 227 unlicensed betting sites.

According to findings highlighted by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on November 6, 2026 and covered by iGaming Business on November 9, the unlicensed websites received 19.4 visits for every 100 visits to licensed sites during January–July 2026. In late 2021, the corresponding figure was approximately one visit per 100.

The research also found that estimated monthly visits to the monitored unlicensed websites grew from about 1.8 million in 2022 to more than 25 million in 2025. The BHA separately highlighted a seven-fold rise in traffic to a subset of unlicensed sites offering British horseracing bets.

These figures describe website traffic, not the percentage of UK gamblers using offshore operators or the share of gambling revenue generated by illegal sites. The study compares a selected sample and relies on estimated online visits. A visit is not the same thing as a unique customer, account, deposit or wager.

Why it matters

The affiliate-marketing implication is not that publishers should chase growing offshore traffic—it is that due diligence matters more when unlicensed destinations are easy to find. Betting comparison sites, review publishers and SEO teams can attract UK search traffic to brands operating under very different legal permissions. A familiar-looking sportsbook, popular search term or lucrative referral offer does not establish UK authorization.

Affiliates serving British audiences should verify an operator’s current permissions before recommending it. An offshore licence issued elsewhere does not by itself authorize a gambling operator to serve customers in Great Britain.

The findings also complicate interpretation of SEO trends. More estimated visits to unlicensed betting websites do not prove that affiliates, Google search or any particular ad network caused the growth. The IFHA research does, however, underline the importance of measuring where users go after reading gambling content, not merely whether a page attracts clicks.

The figures should be read alongside separate Gambling Commission data. Its November 2026 illegal gambling dashboard includes modelled website-engagement estimates and survey measures. Those datasets use different samples and methods and should not be combined as though they measured the same thing.

For reputable publishers, accurate licensing information, geographic qualification, transparent comparison criteria and the removal of outdated promotional links can be a practical trust advantage. They can also prevent older, high-ranking articles from directing readers toward an operator whose market status has changed.

What affiliates should know

What should UK-focused betting affiliates do with this news? Treat it as a reason to strengthen ongoing compliance and content maintenance, rather than as evidence of a new affiliate-specific ban or commission change.

  • Verify operator status. Check that each betting brand promoted to Great Britain has the necessary UK Gambling Commission authorization for the activities advertised. Recheck when ownership, domain names or market access changes.
  • Audit destination links. Review sportsbook comparisons, historic welcome-offer articles, banners, redirect chains and geo-targeting rules so UK visitors are not sent to unverified operators.
  • Qualify SEO claims. Do not present a site as 'UK licensed' solely because it offers sterling deposits, UK sports coverage or English-language support.
  • Keep research figures in context. The widely shared '19-fold' comparison refers to the ratio of visits to monitored illegal versus legal sites in two periods—not a claim that one in five British adults gamble illegally.
  • Document editorial checks. Record when licence details and commercial offers were last verified, especially on high-traffic evergreen pages.

Does the new study mean UK gambling marketing rules have changed today? No. It provides new evidence about website traffic and regulatory risk, not a November 10 rule change. Existing licensing and advertising obligations still need to be evaluated independently.

Is the illegal market now one fifth of all UK gambling? The study cannot establish that. Its 19.4-to-100 figure covers visits within a particular collection of monitored websites during January–July 2026. It is not a comprehensive measure of player numbers, spending or national market share.

Bottom line: The latest research shows why UK gambling affiliates cannot rely on popularity or search visibility as a proxy for legitimacy. Publishers that check licences, identify outdated offers and explain the limits of traffic estimates will provide more dependable guidance to users and a clearer compliance record for commercial partners.

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