Children as young as 14 are being targeted by unregulated gambling firms, with AI-generated tipsters, influencers and the manosphere blamed for exploiting teenagers on social media.

Over 30 unregulated gambling sites – such as Stake and Rainbet – are accused of targeting UK users primarily aged 14-25, according to new data collected last month by independent OSINT researchers, while the UK Black Market Gambling report into social media risks and trends states that the promotion spans the likes of TikTok, YouTube, Kick and Twitch.

“Researchers identified a network of AI-generated YouTube personas designed to show UK users how to bypass gambling restrictions and services offering VPN-based access and identity verification workarounds to access banned sites,” the report said.

It comes after the UK government announced legislation to ban social media for teenagers under 16, while introducing a curfew for those between 16 and 18, from next year.

“At least 12 football fan and tipster accounts – covering clubs including Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United – found posting identical betting tips simultaneously, in what researchers concluded was a coordinated affiliate campaign, most without any disclosure of a commercial relationship,” the report added.

Gambling concerns

There have been concerns in recent months about a further shift towards a gambling black market following a raft of taxes implemented on legal gambling – including affordability checks for users – at Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget last autumn.

And from this summer Premier League clubs will scrap the use of gambling and casino brands from the front-of-shirt sponsorship slot on their kit, resulting in a raft of unregulated gambling sites leaving that lucrative partnership space.

Bejay Patel, managing director of UK and Ireland at Entain, said: “As the men’s World Cup is underway, this research is a wake-up call to government, regulators and law enforcement agencies that illegal gambling promotion is not operating at the fringes but is now operating at scale in the UK with coordinated networks primed to target millions of UK fans during the tournament.

“It also raises serious questions about whether regulators and enforcement agencies have the powers and resources needed to tackle the highly coordinated illegal gambling promotion effectively, particularly across global social media platforms.”