UK Gambling Commission Releases First Open Banking Study on Unlicensed Gambling Payments

The UK Gambling Commission has released its first open banking study which analyzes payment data directed toward unlicensed gambling operators, and this analysis covers individuals who made repeated payments to illegal sites during the monitoring period. The study forms part of the regulator's ongoing illegal gambling programme work and draws on transaction records collected through open banking channels to identify patterns among users who engaged with unlicensed platforms multiple times. Data collection focused on a sample of 179 people who completed approximately 3,426 transactions to such operators, providing the first detailed view of repeat activity in this segment.

Study Scope and Sample Characteristics

Researchers examined payment flows from consumers who showed repeated engagement with unlicensed sites rather than one-off incidents, and the sample size allowed for statistical comparison against broader population trends in the licensed market. The study tracked activity both before and after the first detected payment to an unlicensed operator, which revealed consistent behavior across the group. Observers note that the methodology relied on anonymized banking data to protect individual identities while still capturing the volume and frequency of transfers.

Among the 179 individuals, the average number of transactions per person reached roughly nineteen, which indicates sustained interaction rather than sporadic contact with illegal operators. The commission's report, referenced as published on 28 October 2026, presents these figures as the initial benchmark for future open banking monitoring exercises. Those who've studied similar regulatory datasets recognize that repeat engagement often signals deeper integration of unlicensed sites into regular gambling routines.

Key Overlap with Licensed Operators

Findings show that 91 percent of the individuals in the sample also placed bets with licensed operators during the same timeframe, and this overlap remained stable even after the first recorded payment to an unlicensed site. Licensed gambling activity did not decline substantially following initial engagement with illegal platforms, which suggests that many users maintained accounts across both regulated and unregulated environments simultaneously. The commission's analysis indicates that the presence of unlicensed payments did not displace existing patterns of licensed play for the majority of the group.

Experts have observed that such dual usage creates challenges for tracking overall gambling exposure because activity spreads across multiple channels. Data from the study further reveals that the volume of licensed transactions stayed consistent month to month once illegal site payments began, rather than shifting resources away from regulated operators. This pattern emerged clearly when researchers compared pre- and post-engagement periods within the same user accounts.

Problem Gambling Indicators

Problem gambling rates measured by PGSI scores of 8 or higher reached 45 percent within the repeat-payment group, compared with 6 percent among the wider population of licensed gamblers. The commission's report links this elevated rate directly to the sample of individuals who made multiple transactions to unlicensed operators, and the difference appears statistically significant. Researchers note that the higher prevalence holds after controlling for basic demographic variables available in the dataset.

Those who've examined PGSI distributions across various studies recognize that scores at this level typically correlate with more intensive gambling involvement overall. The open banking data allowed the commission to connect payment frequency with self-reported problem gambling screens collected through other regulatory channels, producing a clearer picture of risk concentration. Figures reveal that nearly half teh sample met the threshold for problem gambling, which stands in contrast to the much lower rate observed in the licensed-only population.

Regulatory Context in Late 2026

The release of this study in late October 2026 occurs amid broader efforts by the commission to strengthen oversight of payment flows and consumer protection measures. Open banking tools now enable more granular monitoring than previous methods permitted, and the first dataset provides a baseline against which future collections can be measured. The regulator continues to develop the programme, with additional analyses expected as more transaction records become available through the same channels.

According to the published findings, the 91 percent overlap rate and the absence of any marked drop in licensed activity point to parallel usage rather than substitution. This observation holds across the full sample of 3,426 transactions and supports ongoing work to understand how consumers navigate between licensed and unlicensed environments. The commission's report emphasizes that these statistics represent the initial phase of what will become a recurring monitoring exercise.

Conclusion

The UK Gambling Commission's open banking study supplies concrete data on repeat payments to unlicensed operators and documents the strong overlap with licensed activity that persists afterward. With 179 individuals accounting for 3,426 transactions and 91 percent maintaining licensed play, the findings establish a factual baseline for further programme development. The elevated PGSI rates of 45 percent within this group versus 6 percent in the licensed population highlight a concentrated area of risk that future monitoring can track. The report, available through the commission's site, marks the start of systematic open banking analysis in this area and sets the stage for additional data releases as the programme advances into 2027.