RO3 Preventing crime
Activity to tackle unlicensed gambling and outcomes
The aim of our regulatory activity is to make it difficult to provide illegal gambling at scale to customers in Great Britain (GB).
We receive reports and source intelligence on potential illegal gambling activity. We may find, after initial assessment of a report, that unlicensed activity is not actually taking place or is not accessible by British customers. We prioritise action against those we consider pose the biggest risk to British consumers.
While we continue to develop metrics in this area, we are demonstrating our impact by reporting on the activity we have taken to disrupt those priority cases.
Enforcement activities to tackle unlicensed gambling undertaken April 2024 to March 2025
| Activity undertaken | Number of actions April 2024 to June 2024 | Number of actions July 2024 to September 2024 | Number of actions October 2024 to December 2024 | Number of actions January 2025 to March 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of URLs referred to search engines | 43,439 | 45,212 | 28,036 | 26,996 |
| Number of websites referred to search engines | 134 | 124 | 144 | 209 |
| Number of URLs referred to platforms | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of content referrals to platforms | 36 | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| Number of referrals to Registrars or hosts | 197 | 113 | 80 | 105 |
| Number of cease and desists issued to illegal operators | 191 | 113 | 83 | 129 |
| Number of cease and desists issued to advertisers and/or affiliates | 71 | 130 | 122 | 29 |
| Number of cease and desists issued to payment service providers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Criminal investigations commenced | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Referrals to other agencies, regulators or law enforcement bodies | 0 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
Outcomes of enforcement activities April 2024 to March 2025
| Outcome of activity | Number of outcomes April 2024 to June 2024 | Number of outcomes July 2024 to September 2024 | Number of outcomes October 2024 to December 2024 | Number of outcomes January 2025 to March 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number or URLs removed from search engines | 33,316 | 24,539 | 17,305 | 20,545 |
| Number of websites removed from search engines | 126 | 123 | 109 | 170 |
| Number of URLs removed from platforms | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of content removed from platforms | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Number of websites removed and/or suspended by registrar or host | 46 | 18 | 7 | 12 |
| Number of websites Geo-blocked by operator | 75 | 37 | 77 | 66 |
| Number of websites or advertisements removed by affiliates or advertisers | 25 | 53 | 71 | 9 |
| Instances of payment provision removed or disrupted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Prosecutions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |