TLDR
- The BGC denied claims that its members supplied games to unlicensed offshore gambling sites Donbet and Mystake
- A campaign group raised the allegations during a House of Lords hearing on June 17
- SBC News could not independently verify the claims during testing
- The BGC says piracy, not supplier complicity, is the more likely explanation for familiar games appearing on black market sites
- The Gambling Commission is set to gain new powers to block unlicensed domains in the coming months
The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council pushed back hard this week against allegations that some of its members were supplying games to illegal offshore gambling websites.
The claims were raised on June 17 during a House of Lords hearing by a campaign group. The group said it had found evidence linking game suppliers connected to the BGC to offshore operators Donbet and Mystake.
BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst responded quickly. She said the named suppliers had denied any knowing involvement with black market operators.
SBC News tested both platforms. Accounts could be created on Donbet and Mystake, but the games named in the report were not accessible. The claims could not be independently confirmed.
BGC Points to Piracy, Not Complicity
The BGC offered a different explanation for how its members’ games might appear on unlicensed sites. Hurst said piracy is a growing problem in online gambling, where game code can be copied, reverse-engineered and repackaged to look like the real thing.
This is not unique to gambling. Across digital industries, software is regularly stolen and redistributed without the creator’s knowledge or consent.
The BGC said intellectual property theft is a more likely explanation than direct supplier involvement.
Hurst added that any member found to be knowingly supplying illegal operators would face serious consequences. That includes losing BGC membership and risking their Gambling Commission licence.
Regulator Faces Criticism — But New Powers Are Coming
The report also criticised the Gambling Commission for not blocking the domains named in the allegations. This points to a known gap in UK gambling regulation.
Unlike some European regulators, the Gambling Commission has not had the power to order website blocks. That is expected to change soon. New rules will allow the regulator to seek court orders to block specific unlicensed domains.
Tim Miller, the Commission’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, recently discussed these upcoming changes on the iGaming Daily Podcast.
The government has already committed funding and enforcement resources to fighting illegal gambling.
Licensed operators have warned that black market sites are becoming harder to detect and disrupt. The Lords hearing this week showed that tensions between regulators, industry groups and campaign organisations are growing.
The question of whether unlicensed sites are sourcing games through industry contacts or through piracy is likely to remain unresolved as enforcement efforts increase.
