UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) CEO Andrew Rhodes used his keynote speech at the IAGR 2025 Conference to address the growing use of cryptocurrency among younger consumers and its implications for the gambling industry.
Rhodes noted that while UK-licensed operators are not permitted to offer crypto-based gambling, such activity is already widespread in the illegal market and could soon challenge regulators and policymakers.
He warned that the trend is developing much faster than anticipated, suggesting that what was once expected to be a long-term concern could emerge within the next one to two years. Individuals under 40 are increasingly using crypto assets as both a store of value and a payment method, creating a new generation of consumers whose digital assets have no legal outlet in the licensed gambling sector.
Rhodes said this shift will soon pressure both regulators and the government to determine whether – and how—cryptocurrency could be integrated into the regulated framework. He expressed the UKGC’s serious reservations about the idea, citing the difficulty of verifying the origins of crypto funds and the associated risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. Rhodes stressed that these complex questions must be addressed at a governmental level due to their wider financial implications.
Despite these concerns, he acknowledged that the issue will not disappear, noting that the demand for regulatory clarity on crypto gambling is growing within the UK market.
Rhodes’s broader remarks focused on the changing dynamics of the UK gambling market. According to the latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain, overall participation remains steady at around 48% of adults. The total market is valued at £15.6bn, or £11.5bn excluding lotteries, with remote gambling accounting for £6.9bn – roughly 60% of the non-lottery segment. Online casino games, especially slots, dominate the online sector with £4.4bn in 2023/24 revenue.
This growth mirrors the UK’s wider digital habits, as 95% of adults now have home internet access and spend over four hours online daily, primarily on mobile devices. Rhodes also highlighted the growing role of AI in gambling, helping standardise safer gambling interactions. However, he cautioned that excessive personalisation could heighten engagement intensity and increase player risk.
Rhodes revealed that criminal cases handled by the UKGC have surged 300% year-on-year, largely due to illegal gambling and betting integrity issues. The Commission’s illegal gambling unit now works with search engines to delist unlawful sites, nearly 200,000 URLs have been reported this financial year, with about half successfully removed. The regulator is also targeting B2B game suppliers to prevent unlicensed market leakage.
Addressing fairness, Rhodes shared that 96.3% of 44.2 million withdrawal requests (June–September 2024) cleared automatically, 3.5% within 24 hours, and just 0.1% took longer than 48 hours. Account restrictions affected 4.31% of accounts over the past year, often for commercial reasons such as stake limits. Notably, many restricted accounts belonged to profitable customers, indicating that such limitations might be pushing some toward unlicensed sites.
Through its Regular feed of Operator Core Data (ROCD) initiative, the UKGC now monitors player behaviour in near real time. Early findings reveal that players under 25 are least likely to set deposit limits but most prone to financial risk triggers. Pilot studies using credit data also showed that high-spending players were up to five times more likely to have defaulted on a loan in the past year. Rhodes said such data-led insights will help balance consumer protection with freedom.
Rhodes concluded by stressing the need for stronger international collaboration among regulators, as challenges related to technology, player behaviour, and illegal markets are now universal.
Following his address, the UKGC unveiled its new Evidence Roadmaps, expanding its evidence-led regulatory strategy. Developed under the leadership of David Taylor, the initiative refines the Commission’s previous evidence priorities and aligns them with the forthcoming statutory levy.
The roadmaps identify specific research needs across key themes and were shaped through consultations with researchers, policymakers, academics, affected individuals, and industry representatives. They aim to guide collaborative, data-driven research across the gambling ecosystem.
Levy funding will support both UKGC-led and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-commissioned studies, including long-term projects such as a possible longitudinal study on gambling harms. The Commission also launched a Research Reporting Form for academics to share their work aligned with these priorities and plans to revisit the roadmaps next year to assess progress.
