The Ethical Gambling Forum (EGF) will host an executive-level working forum on 12 November 2026 to examine what drives consumers towards illegal gambling and develop practical solutions that bring together industry, regulatory, technology and consumer education perspectives. The event will take place under Chatham House Rules.
“Confronting the Illegal Gambling Market Together: Shared Responsibility, Shared Solutions” will run from 08:30 to 13:00, kindly hosted by Mishcon de Reya in their central London offices. The event will use facilitated roundtables, scenario-based exercises and a collaborative action lab to turn discussion into proposed commitments.
At the heart of the workshop is a question: how can stakeholders work together to tackle illegal gambling while balancing player protection, consumer choice and accessibility? The scene will be set by Tim Miller of GamReg Consulting, formerly of the UK Gambling Commission.
Participants will examine the factors that can draw consumers towards unlicensed sites, including friction in the customer journey, verification requirements, product availability, cryptocurrency, promotional activity and consumer understanding of licensed protections. Discussions will also explore advertising loopholes, affiliate networks and influencer promotion, alongside the limitations of enforcement alone.
The programme will then move from identifying problems to designing responses. Working through scenarios involving offshore cryptocurrency casinos, self-excluded players accessing illegal operators through social media promotions, and sports audiences targeted by unlicensed affiliates, participants will develop practical intervention plans.
Each proposed solution will be designed to address the roles of operators, regulators, technology platforms and consumer education, with clear responsibilities and measures of success.
A collaborative action lab will explore priorities including disrupting illegal advertising, payment intervention, cross-border enforcement, data sharing, AI-enabled detection, affiliate accountability and smarter regulatory approaches.
Working groups will be asked to identify an immediate deliverable achievable within 90 days, a collaborative initiative and a longer-term strategic or regulatory reform. Each proposal will include measurable success indicators and named stakeholders responsible for delivery.
The workshop’s intended outcome is an Ethical Gambling Forum Action Charter, capturing commitments, responsibilities and proposed next steps for circulation after the event. A closing accountability session will ask participants to put forward one commitment, one measurable action and one request for cross-sector collaboration.
By connecting consumer behaviour, commercial realities, player protection and enforcement, the forum aims to establish practical priorities for a coordinated response to illegal gambling.
Dingnews.com 29/10/2026