Rachel Reeves has been warned to halt plans for tax hikes on bookies after research revealed illegal sites took over 70 per cent of Europe’s betting and casino sales in 2024.
Data published by Yield Sec suggests that black market bookies and casino operators raked in £69.7bn [$81.1bn] across the 27 European Union countries in 2024.
While that number will be lower in the United Kingdom, plans by No11 to increase the levy on bookies in line with online casinos could thrust punters towards black market bookies.
It is estimated that 1.5m Brits are using the black market, staking over £4bn [$4.7bn] annually on various sports offerings.
