The boss of Britain’s gambling trade body has urged major tech platforms to crack down on illegal betting adverts ahead of what is expected to be the biggest World Cup for gambling in history.

In an open letter seen by City AM, Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) chief executive Grainne Hurst warned that black market operators are using social media, search engines, messaging services and digital ad platforms to reach British consumers, including vulnerable people and those who have self-excluded from gambling.

“Every day, illegal gambling operators use social media, search engines, messaging services and digital advertising networks to reach people in Britain,” Hurst wrote.

“They target consumers who have self-excluded from gambling. They target vulnerable people. They target those who are looking for help and support. And too often, they do so in plain sight.”

The letter comes as the Fifa Men’s World Cup kicks off, with more than $50bn (£37.4bn) expected to be wagered globally across the tournament, according to forecasts from Macquarie.

The expanded 48-team competition set to generate around $500m in bets per match, up sharply from the $35bn wagered during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Hurst said illegal operators were exploiting platforms run by “some of the most sophisticated technology companies in the world”, and argued they had the tools to do more.

“You have the data. You have the expertise. You have the artificial intelligence tools. You have the ability to identify harmful illegal content at scale,” she wrote.

“The issue is no longer whether this problem can be addressed. The issue is whether enough is being done.”

Black market fears grow

The BGC, which represents around 90 per cent of Britain’s regulated betting and gaming industry, has stepped up warnings over the illegal gambling market in recent weeks.

Research cited by the organisation from H2 Gambling Capital suggests stakes with black market operators could almost double from £17bn today to £33bn by 2028.

Separate analysis from WARC, also cited by the BGC, found illegal operators account for almost half of all gambling advertising spend in Britain and could overtake the regulated sector entirely within two years.

Hurst said those figures showed consumers were being pushed away from licensed firms and towards operators that “answer to nobody”.

“Behind every one of those figures is a consumer being drawn away from the protections of the regulated market and into the hands of illegal operators,” she wrote.

The regulated industry argues that licensed firms are required to carry out age verification checks, safer gambling interventions, affordability protections and self-exclusion schemes, while black market sites operate outside UK rules.

The letter calls on tech platforms to proactively remove illegal gambling advertising before it reaches consumers, invest more in detection tools, share intelligence across platforms and publish more transparency around enforcement.

It also urges closer cooperation between platforms, regulators, law enforcement and the gambling industry.

“Consumers need outcomes, not meetings. Action, not attendance. Results, not good intentions,” Hurst wrote.

The warning lands after the BGC published a five-point plan earlier this week calling for tougher action against illegal gambling advertising, stronger website blocking powers, payment disruption and criminal sanctions against operators targeting UK consumers.

It also comes after the Treasury pushed ahead with sharp gambling tax rises in the Autumn Budget, despite industry warnings that higher taxes could push more customers towards unlicensed operators.

A BGC spokesperson previously said official analysis had raised concerns that tax rises could “push some customers away from the regulated market towards harmful illegal operators”.