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Commission tackles advertising on illegal websites

12 August 2015

The number of gambling adverts on illegal websites has dropped by a third since the Gambling Commission joined a police operation aimed at disrupting websites that break copyright laws.

Earlier this year the Commission teamed up with the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) for Operation Creative – an operation aimed at reducing the advertising revenue of sites providing access to pirated films, music and books.

Since then PIPCU has seen a 36per cent decrease in gambling adverts on copyright infringing websites.

Read PIPCU press release (opens in new tab).

Note to editors

  1. The Gambling Commission (the Commission) regulates gambling in the public interest alongside its co-regulators local licensing authorities. It does so by keeping crime out of gambling, by ensuring that gambling is conducted fairly and openly, and by protecting children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling. Subject to these overriding public protection objectives, as regulator of the National Lottery the Commission monitors and challenges Camelot to raise the maximum amount for good causes. The Commission also provides independent advice to government on gambling in Britain.
  2. The Commission and local licensing authorities are responsible for licensing and regulating all gambling in Great Britain other than spread betting, which is the responsibility of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (opens in new tab).
  3. See the Terms & Conditions section of our website for information on legal advice (opens in new tab).

For all media enquiries, please contact the Gambling Commission press office.

Last updated: 10 December 2020

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