Attempts to Access Blocked Sites

Request

‘1. Please provide a list of all website categories that are blocked or restricted on your network filtering system (eg. adult content, gambling, gaming, games, illegal streaming, dating, social media etc).

2. Attempted access to blocked websites:

For the period 1st January 2025 to 4th December 2025 (or the present date by which you are searching data), the total number of attempts to access blocked websites, broken down by category (see examples above).

• The top 20 most frequently attempted blocked URLs, showing
• URL/domain name
• Number of attempted visits.

If naming specific URLs is not possible, lease provide the domain only (eg. "skybet.com").

3. Network Scope:

Please clarify if possible whether the figures involve for each data set:

• Staff devices
• Publicly accessible devices (if applies).

Response

Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

In your email you have requested the following information:

‘1. Please provide a list of all website categories that are blocked or restricted on your network filtering system (eg. adult content, gambling, gaming, games, illegal streaming, dating, social media etc).

2. Attempted access to blocked websites:

For the period 1st January 2025 to 4th December 2025 (or the present date by which you are searching data), the total number of attempts to access blocked websites, broken down by category (see examples above).

• The top 20 most frequently attempted blocked URLs, showing
• URL/domain name
• Number of attempted visits.

If naming specific URLs is not possible, lease provide the domain only (eg. "skybet.com").

3. Network Scope:

Please clarify if possible whether the figures involve for each data set:

• Staff devices
• Publicly accessible devices (if applies).

The Gambling Commission can confirm as follows:

Question One:

Please see the attached spreadsheet containing a list of all website categories that are blocked or restricted on the Gambling Commission’s network filtering system.

Question Two:

The Commission can confirm that information is held in relation to the number of attempts to access a website that is blocked or restricted. However, this information does not contain details of how the block occurred, and whether the block was caused by an intentional attempt to access a blocked website by a member of staff or by a ‘drive-by’. By ‘drive-by' we mean a blocked component of an unblocked website, for example advertising banners that we may have blocked that appear on a website that is not blocked. A single web page may contain multiple components with multiple URLs (which are in different categories, in respect of whether they are blocked or not). Our blocking software can block URLs that appear on a page as well as the URL that the end user typed.

The attached spreadsheet therefore provides information of the number of attempts (each row is an attempt) to access blocked websites whether the attempt was intentional or via a ‘drive-by’. Please note, the spreadsheet provided is a sanitised version and does not include the URL domains.

Please note that we only hold information for the last 6 months.

Question Three:

The Commission can confirm that the information provided is for staff devices.

Review of the decision

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email. 

Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.

If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission. 

It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.

The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Information Management Team
Gambling Commission

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