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 2026 to March 2027

Enforcement activities to tackle unlicensed gambling undertaken April 2026 to March 2027

Activity undertaken	Number of actions April 2026 to June 2026
Number of URLs referred to search engines	147,721
Number of websites referred to search engines	366
Number of URLs referred to platforms	33
Number of content referrals to platforms	33
Number of referrals to Registrars or hosts	103
Number of cease and desists issued to illegal operators	217
Number of cease and desists issued to advertisers and/or affiliates	73
Number of cease and desists issued to payment service providers	0
Criminal investigations commenced	0
Referrals to other agencies, regulators or law enforcement bodies	13

Outcomes of enforcement activities April 2026 to March 2027

Outcomes of enforcement activities April 2026 to March 2027

Outcome of activity	Number of outcomes April 2026 to June 2026
Number or URLs removed from search engines	19,678
Number of websites removed from search engines	276
Number of URLs removed from platforms	22
Number of content removed from platforms	22
Number of websites removed and/or suspended by registrar or host	14
Number of websites Geo-blocked by operator	27
Number of websites or advertisements removed by affiliates or advertisers	12
Instances of payment provision removed or disrupted	0
Prosecutions	0

Enforcement activities and outcomes to tackle unlicensed gambling April 2025 to March 2026

Enforcement activities to tackle unlicensed gambling undertaken April 2025 to March 2026

Enforcement activities to tackle unlicensed gambling undertaken April 2025 to March 2026

Activity undertaken	Number of actions April 2025 to June 2025	Number of actions July 2025 to September 2025	Number of actions October 2025 to December 2025	Number of actions January 2026 to March 2026
Number of URLs referred to search engines	32,608	117,711	117,645	70,308
Number of websites referred to search engines	321	272	123	226
Number of URLs referred to platforms	108	128	114	106
Number of content referrals to platforms	108	128	113	106
Number of referrals to Registrars or hosts	147	144	85	66
Number of cease and desists issued to illegal operators	145	150	101	98
Number of cease and desists issued to advertisers and/or affiliates	77	66	53	51
Number of cease and desists issued to payment service providers	0	3	0	0
Criminal investigations commenced	1	0	1	0
Referrals to other agencies, regulators or law enforcement bodies	7	0	24	10

Outcomes of enforcement activities April 2025 to March 2026

Outcomes of enforcement activities April 2025 to March 2026

Outcome of activity	Number of outcomes April 2025 to June 2025	Number of outcomes July 2025 to September 2025	Number of outcomes October 2025 to December 2025	Number of outcomes January 2026 to March 2026
Number or URLs removed from search engines	25,431	63,530	118,814	58,820
Number of websites removed from search engines	214	246	167	152
Number of URLs removed from platforms	84	61	84	48
Number of content removed from platforms	84	61	84	48
Number of websites removed and/or suspended by registrar or host	22	20	8	3
Number of websites Geo-blocked by operator	108	63	30	27
Number of websites or advertisements removed by affiliates or advertisers	42	21	18	7
Instances of payment provision removed or disrupted	0	2	0	0
Prosecutions	0	0	1	0