Entain’s group director of corporate and regulatory affairs has warned the UK gambling industry faces an “ecosystem-wide threat” from the unlicensed market that has been exacerbated by a stricter regulatory landscape.
Speaking at iGB Live 2026 on Wednesday, 1 July, Ross Parker said the black market threat had increased partly due to a “vicious circle” in which governments have been “tempted by the siren song of higher tax rates”.
He also argued that politicians had chosen “quick fixes” via legislation which Parker said was “beyond the realms of what a regulated market should sustain”.
Parker said: “It creates this very unhelpful differential between firms such as Entain that abide by the rules and pay tax […] and operators that scoff at laws.
“The larger that tax burden is, the tighter the regulation is for regulated firms, the bigger the differential becomes.
“What does that mean? It means that there’s a greater differential in the generosity that we can offer our players, and a greater incentive for illegal, illicit operators to target their back jurisdiction.”
Ross Parker (credit, iGB Live)
The Entain head also used the example of unregulated operators “outbidding” licensed firms for advertising, including on Premier League shirts.
Last season, several unlicensed operators, including Stake and BJ88, were the front-of-shirt sponsor for Premier League clubs, having previously been operating in the UK under a white-label deal with TGP Europe.
Stake announced on Wednesday, 1 July, that it would be continuing its relationship with Everton, but moving sponsorship to the sleeve.
Entain CEO Stella David has specifically called on the new Independent Football Regulator to stop these deals from happening.
Increased prominence for black market companies leads to a “collapse of tax revenue, and it leads you with more pressure for the government to go further, which takes you right back up to step one, and you go around the cycle again”, Parker argued.
Last year, remote gaming duty was nearly doubled to 40% – an increase described by Parker as “completely unjustified and unhelpful for the sector”.
“[The tax increase] really risks accelerating this negative trend between a growing illegal market and increasingly hard-pressed regulated operators,” he told delegates.
General betting duty, excluding domestic horseracing, is due to rise from 15% to 25% next April. The influential think tank, the Social Market Foundation, this week called for machine games duty on Category B machines to double to 40%.
Parker’s warning is the latest in a series of public statements from Entain raising concerns about the black market.
In June, the operator released research it had commissioned which showed three quarters of adults struggled to identify ads from black market operators, while chief customer care officer Simon Zinger wrote to the Intellectual Property Office to push back on unlicensed firms being able to secure UK trademarks.
The post “Vicious circle” of tax will drive “ecosystem-wide threat” of black market, says Entain chief first appeared on EGR Intel.
Corporate and regulatory affairs head Ross Parker argues that tax revenue will plummet and lead to calls for further restrictions on the industry
The post “Vicious circle” of tax will drive “ecosystem-wide threat” of black market, says Entain chief first appeared on EGR Intel.