Community Care Gaming will collaborate with academic organisations and specialist research partners to extend the current literature on niche aspects of gambling or gaming to include safer gambling for those over 50s; illegal or grey market gambling; gambling influencers.
This policy briefing from Community Care Gaming explores the growing threat of the UK gambling black market and argues that illegal gambling is no longer simply a gambling issue, but also an online safety, social media, cybercrime and consumer protection challenge. Drawing on six research papers and a multi-stakeholder evidence base, the paper examines how influencers, AI, crypto payments, social media platforms and emerging digital technologies are enabling unlicensed operators to reach and recruit UK consumers, particularly young and vulnerable groups. The report sets out practical recommendations to reduce black market activity, including stronger platform accountability, a Code of Conduct for influencers, disruption of illegal payment pathways, improved consumer awareness, and the development of a trusted regulated market framework. It presents a whole-system approach aimed at making illegal gambling harder to access while strengthening safer, licensed alternatives for consumers.
READ MOREThis paper examines the UK’s gambling advertising environment, highlighting how rapid technological advancements—such as smartphones, online betting platforms, and cryptocurrencies—have transformed the industry. It explains that regulation, primarily guided by the Gambling Act 2005 and overseen by bodies like the Gambling Commission and ASA, struggles to keep pace with digital innovation and the rise of social media and influencer marketing. The paper emphasises the growing complexity of enforcing rules across legal, grey, and black markets, and raises concerns about protecting young and vulnerable audiences from increasingly targeted and pervasive illegal black market gambling promotions.
READ MOREFocusing on Generation Alpha (born 2010–2024), this demographic cohort succeeding Gen Z, consisting of over 2 billion people, the largest generation in history. Primarily children of Millennials, they are the first "digital natives" born entirely within the 21st century, growing up with high-speed internet, smartphones, and AI. They are noted for their high screen time, influence on parental spending, and early immersion in digital, influencer-driven culture. This paper explores how growing up in a fully digital, gamified environment may shape future attitudes toward gambling. It argues that everyday digital experiences such as educational apps and games that use reward systems mirror gambling mechanics, potentially normalising gambling-like behaviours from an early age. As boundaries between gaming and gambling blur further through AI, crypto, and influencer marketing, the paper suggests that this generation may develop different risk perceptions and behaviours, presenting significant regulatory and societal challenges against the backdrop of the illegal black market.
READ MOREThis paper analyses how artificial intelligence is transforming influencer marketing within the gambling sector. It explains that AI enables highly personalised and predictive advertising strategies, allowing operators to target users more effectively based on behaviour and preferences. The emergence of AI-generated “virtual influencers” introduces new opportunities for engagement but also raises regulatory and ethical concerns, particularly regarding transparency and accountability. The paper highlights the heightened risks for younger audiences, especially Generation Alpha, who may struggle to distinguish between real and artificial endorsements and legal and illegal gambling.
READ MOREThis paper investigates the risks associated with influencer-driven gambling promotion, particularly for young people. It shows that increased exposure to gambling content social media and streaming platforms correlates with higher rates of problem gambling among adolescents. The paper highlights how influencers effectively act as advertisers, often bypassing traditional restrictions, and how unregulated or poorly regulated platforms amplify these risks. It concludes that young audiences are especially vulnerable to persuasive content, making influencer marketing a significant contributor to illigal black market gambling-related harms.
READ MOREThis paper explores the ethical considerations of gambling marketing, particularly through social media influencers, using a consequentialist framework that evaluates actions based on their outcomes. It acknowledges that while gambling provides entertainment and economic benefits, it also creates significant harms, especially for vulnerable individuals. The paper argues that ethical decision-making in this space requires balancing these competing outcomes while recognising uncertainty in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. It calls for more transparent, responsible marketing practices that minimise harm without imposing overly restrictive bans.
READ MOREThis paper examines the role of influencers in promoting illicit crypto gambling, highlighting how social media enables the growth of unregulated gambling markets. It explains that cryptocurrencies allow anonymous transactions, making it easier for users and operators to bypass regulatory frameworks like the Gambling Act 2005. Influencers, often seen as trustworthy by their audiences, play a key role in promoting these platforms—sometimes knowingly, sometimes not—exposing users to significant risks without consumer protections. The paper underscores the challenges regulators face in controlling this rapidly evolving and opaque digital ecosystem.
READ MOREThis report explores the age-specific neurocognitive deterioration, social determinants and life transitions which present certain vulnerabilities and have the ability to underpin specific harm-minimisation strategies in adults 50 years and older
READ MOREIn recent years, there has been a rapidity of gaming and gambling combinations most commonly noticed in Twitch, YouTube and Kick streaming platforms. Influencers, with their considerable and active follower base, play a crucial role in transforming the landscape of gambling-related content in the gaming community.
READ MOREThis literature review introduces the unregulated and unlicensed ecosystem of gambling on the Dark Web. It is the first of two reports that will be published over the next few months. Conducted over a two-week period, this desktop literature review aims to (i) shed light on the challenges of researching the Dark Web and (ii) provide an overview of gambling within the Dark Web, based on existing literature.
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