Tackling gambling's black market likened to 'whack-a-mole' by senior DCMS civil servant

Dealing with the black market in gambling has been likened to a game of 'whack-a-mole' by a senior civil servant at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Ben Dean told a conference last week organised by the Westminster Media Forum that the black market could not be eliminated totally but that the government was working closely with the Gambling Commission to tackle illegal gambling.

Industry representatives have highlighted the threat from the black market, especially if customers are driven there by issues such as blanket intrusive affordability checks.