UKGC Study Tracks Illegal Gambling Patterns Through Open Banking Transactions
Olivia Richter · Oct 30, 2026
UKGC Study Tracks Illegal Gambling Patterns Through Open Banking Transactions
The UK Gambling Commission released findings on October 29, 2026, drawn from Open Banking records that flagged 3,426 transactions connected to suspected illegal operators and tied to 179 individuals, and the dataset allowed researchers to examine how these users interacted with both unlicensed sites and regulated platforms over time.
Study Methodology and Data Scope
Analysts examined transaction histories where payments moved toward entities outside the licensed perimeter, then cross-referenced those records against activity at operators holding UKGC licences, while the resulting sample captured repeated engagement rather than one-off incidents and produced clear behavioural sequences for each of the 179 people involved.
Because the information came directly from bank feeds, the figures avoided reliance on self-reported surveys and instead reflected actual payment flows, yet the approach also limited visibility to those customers who used Open Banking tools to manage their accounts.
Overlap Between Licensed and Unlicensed Activity
Among individuals who placed multiple bets with illegal operators, 91 percent continued to use licensed sites as well, and the data showed no marked drop in activity at regulated operators after the first recorded transaction with an unlicensed entity, which undercuts assumptions that illegal sites simply replace official ones.
Researchers tracked sequences of play before and after initial contact with suspected illegal platforms, then compared volumes and frequencies, while the patterns indicated that most users maintained parallel accounts rather than shifting entirely away from the licensed market.
Problem Gambling Indicators
Within the group that recorded illegal transactions, 45 percent scored eight or higher on the Problem Gambling Severity Index, a threshold that signals severe difficulties, and that proportion stood notably above rates observed among players whose activity remained confined to licensed operators.
The study presented these PGSI distributions alongside transaction timelines, allowing observers to see how elevated scores aligned with repeated use of unlicensed sites, although the analysis stopped short of establishing direct causation between the two factors.
Implications for Substitution Theory
Conventional thinking has held that illegal gambling draws customers away from regulated markets, yet the October 2026 findings reveal stable or even sustained levels of licensed play among the same individuals, and this evidence reframes illegal operators as an addition rather than a replacement in many cases.
By following account-level data across both channels, the Commission’s team documented that total gambling exposure often increased when users accessed unlicensed sites, while licensed volumes showed little corresponding reduction, and the pattern held across the majority of the 179 records examined.
Regulatory Context and Next Steps
The UKGC has used Open Banking datasets in prior compliance work, and this latest release builds on that foundation by focusing specifically on cross-border and unlicensed payment flows, while the 3,426 flagged transactions provide a concrete baseline for future monitoring efforts.
Regulators now hold detailed sequences that link early illegal engagement with later PGSI outcomes, and those sequences may inform targeted interventions aimed at individuals who already maintain accounts at both licensed and unlicensed operators.
Conclusion
The October 29, 2026 release supplies one of the clearest transaction-level views yet of how a subset of UK customers engages with illegal gambling operators, and the combination of volume data, overlap statistics, and PGSI scores offers regulators and researchers a shared factual foundation for further examination.