A new report in the UK from gambling harms awareness group Deal Me Out has uncovered some startling trends regarding the number of people who are moving to offshore online gambling sites. One of the big takeaways was that a significant amount of people make the transition due to content from streamers and social media influencers.
show content from black market sites as they offer high roller action and more exciting game features
As many as five million clicks monthly on social media bring people to black market sites through influencer referral links. The content creators often inform viewers how to get around geo-restrictions, such as recommending VPNs and platforms that don’t require any KYC checks. These streamers say that they need to show content from black market sites as they offer high roller action and more exciting game features.
Deal Me Out’s research estimates that over 400,000 underage people are gambling on offshore sites, especially those offering loot boxes or video game-related currencies.
The recent changes to UK gambling legislation appear to not have gone down well with many people. Some questioned why they have to provide so much personal information to operators and they don’t like the ban on certain game features like turbo spins.
Deal Me Out believes that more awareness is necessary to highlight the differences between regulated and unlicensed sites, highlighting the risks of using offshore platforms.
