How we tackle illegal gambling
Tackling illegal gambling is a key part of our work. Find out more about illegal gambling and how we are working to ensure that it is difficult to provide illegal gambling at scale to consumers in Great Britain.
What is illegal gambling
It is illegal to provide gambling facilities to consumers in Great Britain without:
- an operating licence from the Gambling Commission. With the holder complying with the requirements of that licence
- a valid exemption for non-commercial gambling.
This applies regardless of where in the world the gambling is provided from. A gambling licence issued in another country does not permit an operator to provide gambling to consumers in Great Britain.
This is why you will sometimes hear the phrase ‘unlicensed gambling’ used interchangeably with ‘illegal’ or ‘unlawful’ gambling.
In the absence of a valid defence it is also a criminal offence to advertise unlawful gambling to consumers in Great Britain.
Gambling is licensed and regulated in Great Britain to protect the licensing objectives to:
- prevent gambling from being a source of crime and or disorder, being associated with crime and disorder or being used to support crime
- ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
- protect children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.
The licensing objectives and our duties in respect of the National Lottery are undermined by illegal gambling. As well as undermining consumer protections, illegal gambling operators pose an integrity threat to sport and may have links to wider criminality. Illegal gambling operators create unfair competition for the licensed industry and do not contribute tax, levies or funding for sport.
Our strategy
To prevent gambling being a source of crime or associated with crime we want to ensure that it is difficult to provide illegal gambling at scale to consumers in Great Britain.
It is not possible to eliminate illegal gambling entirely given the nature of modern technology and the way criminal enterprises evolve their approaches. We will, however, demonstrate how our focus and increased investment results in high-impact and targeted interventions which collectively ensure Great Britain remains a difficult market to serve illegally.
This is a key commitment of our area of strategic focus to enhance our core operational functions and one of the ways we keep crime out of gambling.
Our work to tackle illegal gambling
We are responsible for investigating potential offences under the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) (opens in new tab). We can institute criminal proceedings for offences under the Act in England and Wales. In Scotland, the power to institute criminal proceedings rests solely with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
Our work to tackle illegal gambling involves a mix of:
- research to understand how and where illegal gambling is available and who is using these facilities
- investment in technology, training, and resources for our dedicated Illegal Markets Team
- disrupting specific threats such as unlicensed gambling operators that illegally offer services to consumers in Great Britain
- proactive activity which makes it more difficult to offer illegal gambling at scale in Great Britain. For example, by identifying and acting against key facilitators of illegal gambling such as payment providers, internet search engines, social media and technology providers
- building working partnerships with other law enforcement bodies in Great Britain and globally
- developing our intelligence approach and engagement with the financial sector to highlight the issue of illegal gambling
- working with Government to ensure we have the resource and powers to enhance our knowledge, capacity and capability to tackle illegal gambling
- ensuring that operators licensed in Great Britain are not associated with or supplying services to the illegal gambling market
- leveraging industry insight and specialist expertise to identify high-impact opportunities and drive knowledge development.
Illegal operators continue to evolve their efforts to target Great Britain, but there are core elements which an illegal operator needs to operate at scale and which we target:
- the ability to process payments
- the ability to advertise or promote their services to attract customers
- access to the software, equipment, technical infrastructure and expertise needed to provide illegal gambling
- the ability to retain customers
- the ability to operate in a manner that evades enforcement activity.
Research
Our Evidence Gaps and priorities framework includes improving our knowledge of the extent and impact of the illegal market.
We carry out research to understand the nature, delivery, extent and impact of the illegal gambling market in Great Britain. Research into illegal gambling is complex but work is being done to estimate it more accurately, to identify trends, and to better understand the impact it is having.
It is also important to help protect consumers to understand whether people are sufficiently aware when they are gambling with an operator licensed and regulated in Great Britain and when they are gambling on the illegal market.
We need to understand why consumers use illegal gambling operators and consider the risks and impact of forms of gambling created by newer technologies, such as gambling with cryptocurrencies.
Our key questions are:
- what is the size of the illegal market, and what is the impact on British consumers?
- which populations are particularly drawn to using illegal sites?
- what is motivating consumers to gamble on the illegal market?
- how easy is it for consumers to know that they are using an unregulated operator?
- what works to disrupt this market?
Find out more about our research into illegal gambling.
Tell us something in confidence
It is important to us that consumers are confident that they can gamble in an environment that is safe and free of crime.
We have created a service that enables consumers to confidentially report something that looks illegal.
The report something in confidence (opens in new tab) service allows consumers to report criminal or suspicious activity such as:
- match fixing and sports betting integrity
- underage gambling
- money laundering concerns
- suspicious activity
- unlicensed gambling or criminal activity.
Action we have taken
In sharing details of any enforcement action we have taken, we will always be very careful to ensure that we do not prejudice the fairness of any subsequent trials.
When conducting a criminal investigation, we will consider making a public announcement at the appropriate time; for example, when suspects are arrested, when search warrants are executed and when charges are laid. A public announcement may also be made at other stages of the investigation when this is considered appropriate.
It is important to publicise the outcome of court hearings in criminal prosecutions and to share details of other actions we have taken to tackle illegal gambling. This helps reassure the public and demonstrates the consequences of offering illegal gambling in Great Britain.
Impact metrics
We measure our progress in tackling illegal gambling by publishing data on the impact of our disruption activity. We also research and report on indicators that help us estimate the scale and risk posed by the illegal market in Great Britain.
The aim of our regulatory activity is to make it difficult to provide illegal gambling at scale to customers in Great Britain (GB). Our impact metrics related to unlicensed gambling shows the impact on the activity we have taken to disrupt those priority cases.
Keeping you informed on illegal gambling
We believe it is important for both industry and consumers to stay informed about our efforts to combat illegal gambling. We regularly publish updates to our website ensuring everyone has access to the latest news and insights. Our work to tackle illegal gambling and related insights can be found in our latest news and blogs.
Last updated: 18 September 2025
Show updates to this content
No changes to show.