Trustpilot, the reviews website that offers to “find a company you can trust”, is hosting ratings of illegal casinos, raising concerns in Westminster about the potential risks posed to consumers.
Unlicensed casino operators linked to financial harm, addiction and even suicide have flooded the UK market in recent years, often targeting people who are trying to limit their gambling by “self-excluding” from licensed operators.
Despite this, Trustpilot hosts reviews of some of the largest unlicensed sites, exposed in a recent investigation into the illegal Santeda casino network by the Guardian and Investigate Europe, as if they were legitimate businesses.
Analysis by the Guardian found reviews for brands including Santeda’s MyStake, Velobet and Goldenbet, which do not have a licence from the Gambling Commission.
Offering gambling services without a licence from the regulator is a criminal offence.
But Trustpilot hosted review pages praising the sites’ supposed qualities, including the variety of slot machine games and fast loading speeds.
Trustpilot also hosted review pages for so-called “affiliates”, which drive traffic towards such sites.
Trustpilot took down the affiliate review pages after the Guardian contacted the company. However, it appeared to claim that reviews for illegal casinos did not breach its policies.
A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) expressed concern about the reviews on Trustpilot.
“We are deeply concerned about all forms of illegal gambling, including the growing number of unlicensed online casinos,” they said.
“Examples like this show why the work of our new illegal gambling taskforce is so important,” they said, referring to plans funded by £26m of new funding announced in November’s budget.
“We need urgent collective action from all parties to protect consumers and ensure that those who want to gamble are directed to the regulated market, where they can do so safely,” DCMS added.
Alex Ballinger, a Labour MP who has campaigned for tougher gambling regulation, said he was concerned by the reviews, given that Trustpilot is “intended to reassure the public of the trustworthiness of a business”.
“There is no justification for promoting sites that are not permitted to operate in the UK and are contributing to increased gambling harm and tax evasion,” he added.
Trustpilot said it “takes the risks associated with unlicensed gambling extremely seriously and has ongoing systems and processes in place to identify and take action against these types of businesses on our platform”.
It said illegal businesses are “not permitted on Trustpilot” and that it takes action against them in line with an internal policy, leading to 3,400 profiles linked to unlicensed gambling being removed in the past week alone.
However, it said it “does not endorse or verify the legitimacy of businesses.
“We are an open platform where consumers can share experiences, and the presence of a profile does not imply regulatory approval or licensing.”
While it removed reviews for affiliate websites, it did not remove reviews for illegal operators flagged by the Guardian.
“We have reviewed the specific examples you shared and have taken action on those that breached our policies,” it added.
“The growth of unlicensed and offshore gambling operators is a broader industry challenge that is increasingly being scrutinised by regulators across the sector. We monitor this space closely and continuously adapt our enforcement approach as this activity evolves.
“We will continue to take action where we identify breaches and evolve our approach as this activity develops.”
In January, an inquest ruled that unlicensed operators were part of the “factual matrix” that led 36-year-old Ollie Long to take his own life.
The illicit market has since attracted increasing scrutiny in the light of concerns that it is growing rapidly and is targeting vulnerable consumers, including those who have signed up to GamStop, the UK-wide self-exclusion scheme for people who want to bar themselves from gambling.