Racing warned of dangers after report claims black market has doubled in a year

Racing has been warned of the dangers of allowing the black market a foothold in the sport, following claims the amount of money gambled generally with unregulated operators has doubled in the last year.

Arena Racing Company chief executive Martin Cruddace was speaking after the release on Thursday of a new report from accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) based on data collected during November and December last year which found the money staked on the black market had doubled to £2.8 billion, compared to a similar study in 2019.

Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) chief executive Michael Dugher warned the UK could be "sleepwalking" towards benefiting illegal operators even further if it did not get regulation of the sector right.