Report
Illegal online gambling: Disruption of illegal online gambling
The third chapter into the Gambling Commission's research in to illegal online gambling focusing on the disruption of the market.
Summary of disruption activity
Since April 2024 the Illegal Markets team have issued:
- 3,140 Cease and Desist (C&Ds) and disruption notices (2,032 C&Ds, 774 Registrar referrals, 402 Host referrals, 3 payment provider referrals)
- 447,778 Bing and Google URLs referred (339,757 to Google and 108,031 to Bing)
- 287,961 URLs removed.
Figure 1 demonstrates that the level of disruption activity undertaken by the Gambling Commission between Quarter 1 (July to September 2024) and Quarter 4 (April to June 2025) has increased. 197 more websites have been referred to search engines for removal in Quarter 4 than Quarter 1 which in turn has increased the impact our work is having with 91 more websites being removed as seen in Figure 2.
Figure 1: Enforcement activities to tackle unlicensed gambling undertaken July 2024 to June 2025
Activity undertaken | Number of actions July to September 2024 |
Number of actions October to December 2024 |
Number of actions January to March 2025 |
Number of actions April to June 2025 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Number of cease and desists issued to illegal operators | 113 | 83 | 129 | 145 |
Number of cease and desists issued to advertisers and/or affiliates | 130 | 122 | 29 | 77 |
Referrals to Registrars or hosts | 113 | 80 | 105 | 147 | Websites referred to search engines | 124 | 144 | 209 | 321 |
It is also evident from Table 2 that the number of websites implementing geo-blocking measures following receipt of a C&D continues to grow. We are referring more websites to registrars and hosting providers which has led to an increase in the number of websites suspended.
Figure 2: Outcomes of enforcement activity fromn July 2024 to June 2025
Outcomes | Number of actions July to September 2024 |
Number of actions October to December 2024 |
Number of actions January to March 2025 |
Number of actions April to June 2025 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Number of websites geo-blocked by operator | 37 | 77 | 66 | 108 |
Number of websites or advertisements removed by affiliates or advertisers | 53 | 71 | 9 | 42 |
Number of websites removed and/or suspended by registrar or host | 18 | 7 | 12 | 22 | Number of websites removed from search engines | 123 | 109 | 170 | 214 |
We recently published a report on understanding consumer engagement with illegal online gambling using web traffic estimates. This web traffic data can be combined with our recorded disruption activities to measure their effect on estimated engagement with illegal websites. The effect of disruption is calculated by taking the estimated engagement from the month preceding the disruption event and comparing that with the average monthly estimated engagement from the three months following the event.
Since multiple disruption activities can be taken against one website, it’s possible that when looking at a particular activity type in isolation, effects of another activity type are also being observed. However, this still provides an idea of which activities are more impactful.
Referrals to search engines and social media companies are the most frequent disruption activities, along with GEO IP blocking.
GEO blocking and blocks by the registrar appear to be more effective methods of disruption. Removals from search engines still have an impact, but to a lesser extent. This is likely because removal from search engines make the website harder to find, but do not fully block access. GEO blocking and registrar blocks are more effective, provided that consumers are not accessing these sites using a virtual private network (VPN) in the case of GEO IP blocking. The data in the following table includes any illegal gambling websites that have had disruption action taken against the site since December 2024, where estimated web traffic data was available from SimilarWeb.
Table 1: Enforcement actvities to tackle unlicensed gambling undertaken July 2024 to June 2025
Disruption undertaken | Average disruption effect (decrease in percentage) |
Number of domains |
---|---|---|
Removed by google | 30% | 80 |
Removed by Facebook | 8% | 57 |
GEO IP blocked | 60% | 53 |
Removed by Bing | 52% | 28 |
Blocked by registrar | 91% | 8 |
Website suspended | 91% | 8 |
We have invested in specialist software to support website reviews and test purchasing activity, allowing us secure access to illegal sites while masking our IP address. This allows us to verify jurisdictional targeting and gather evidence to support enforcement decisions. Test purchasing is a key part of our proactive monitoring programme and helps us assess the availability of gambling products consumers in Great Britain.
We are also expanding our disruption efforts across major platforms such as Meta, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. Targeting is informed by traffic data from SimilarWeb, and formal data requests may be submitted to support case development. In the quarter from April to June 2025, 84 illegal lottery URLs were removed from social media platforms, and 108 Illegal lotteries were referred to social media platforms. These actions are designed to reduce visibility of illegal gambling content and prevent consumer harm.
Collaboration is central to our approach. We work with international regulators through bodies such as the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA), sharing our methodology and supporting global efforts to tackle illegal gambling. We have also established working relationships with Microsoft and Google to streamline referral processes and improve search engine coverage.
Although still in its early stages, reporting payment transaction data to the Visa Operator Scheme is a critical element of our enforcement strategy. This capability allows us to identify and disrupt payment flows to businesses involved in illegal gambling activity. As we scale this approach, it has the potential to significantly enhance our financial disruption toolkit and strengthen our ability to disrupt payment services associated with illegal gambling activity.
We are planning additional test purchasing activity, prioritising high-traffic platforms and remain guided by financial intelligence that highlights suspected illegal gambling operations. This approach is designed to intensify disruption efforts while also advancing our insight into the complex and frequently international financial structures that support such activity.
Industry engagement is also an important area of focus. We are working with licensed operators to understand how legitimate marketing practices are performed. It is believed that these practices are mirrored in the illegal marketplace — including the replication of promotional tactics, bonus structures and user journeys. This insight from the regulated sector helps us target disruption where it will have the greatest impact.
Alongside this, we have been clear that we expect all licensed Business-to-business (B2B) and Business-to-consumer (B2C) suppliers to take proactive steps to prevent their products from being supplied to unlicensed websites targeting consumers in Great Britain. On 20 January 2025, we issued an Industry Warning Notice highlighting the appearance of licensed games on illegal sites. We expect Licensees to monitor their business relationships, terminate non-compliant arrangements, and notify the Commission where such activity is identified. Where games are found to be supplied to illegal operators, we will act — and that action will have a direct regulatory impact.
We also expect licensees to notify the Commission if they become aware of any investigation by another regulator into the presence of their products on unlicensed websites targeting consumers in Great Britain. Failure to report such investigations may itself be considered a breach of licence conditions. The Commission uses this information to assess risk, prioritise enforcement activity, and ensure that licensees are taking appropriate steps to prevent their products from being misused in the unregulated space.
Together, these enforcement efforts and regulatory expectations reflect a coordinated approach to tackling illegal gambling—where both the Commission and licensees have a duty to prevent the supply of products to unlicensed operators and to act decisively when breaches occur.
We recognise that this work is at an early stage, but the signs of progress are encouraging. We remain committed to building our capability, sharing our approach internationally, and working with industry to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of the regulated market.
While our approach is still developing, we are already seeing signs of impact. Illegal operators are beginning to adapt their tactics in response to our interventions — including changes to how URLs are structured, the use of rotating domains, and embedding gambling content within unrelated websites. These behaviours indicate that our disruption efforts are having an effect and are prompting evasive action. As the illegal marketplace evolves, we will remain alert to these changes and continue to adapt our strategy to ensure we respond quickly to emerging threats.
By combining records of past disruption activity with the web traffic data for each website, it is possible to estimate the effect our disruption has on the engagement with these websites.
Web traffic data is available for approximately 160 illegal gambling websites that have had disruption activities taken against them.
By observing the engagement with each of these sites in the month before the disruption activity was performed and comparing that with the average monthly engagement of the following three months, we can see how effective this disruption was. On average, across all 160 websites, there was a 32 percent decrease in engagement following disruption.
Previous sectionIntroduction - Disruption of illegal online gambling Next section
Case studies - Disruption of illegal online gambling
Last updated: 21 October 2025
Show updates to this content
No changes to show.