UKGC Steps Up Action Against Illegal Gambling, Removes Millions of URLs

In continuing to increase its efforts to disrupt illegal online gambling, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) referred 7.7 million URLs linked to illegal gambling activities to search engines between July and September this year. UKGC Referred Millions of Illegal Gambling URLs According to the regulator’s latest enforcement figures, 3,019,291 URLs were taken down during the period, while 1,835 websites were submitted to search engines for delisting. This marked a significant increase compared with the 147,721 URLs referred to search engines between April and June. Speaking at the regulator’s CEO Briefing, acting chief executive Sarah Gardner (the UKGC is currently looking for a new permanent CEO) noted that the Commission had substantially stepped up its enforcement efforts. This comes after the regulator recently received additional government funding, part of the GBP 26 million (almost $35 million) in extra funding that the UKGC should receive over the next three years. Gardner further highlighted the significant expansion of the UKGC’s enforcement efforts, saying that between April and September, the regulator issued 1,005 cease-and-desist notices to advertisers and operators. This is significantly up from 741 during the entirety of the previous financial year. The UKGC also reported 7,824,932 URLs to search engines in the first six months of 2026-27, of which 3,038,969 were removed. This represents a substantial increase over the 397,527 URLs reported and 266,667 taken down throughout 2025-26. Meanwhile, 2,201 websites were referred to search engines for delisting during the six months, more than twice the 1,068 recorded in the previous financial year. The regulator also confirmed that 1,668 websites had been taken down or geo-blocked between April and September. This figure has already exceeded the 1,134 websites recorded for the whole of 2025-26. The UKGC Also Published Data on Engagement with Illegal Gambling The UKGC also recently published new estimates on consumer engagement with illegal gambling websites, as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the evidence base and disrupt illegal gambling markets. The findings form part of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) and have been released alongside an updated Illegal Gambling Data Dashboard. The GSGB uses an innovative set of questions designed to establish whether consumers are likely to have engaged with illegal gambling websites, regardless of whether they are aware of their illegal status. It’s expected that the findings would give deeper insight into the characteristics of consumers using illegal gambling platforms, helping the UKGC identify patterns of engagement and emerging risks. According to Sue Young, executive director of operations at the UKGC, the importance of tackling illegal gambling remains a priority for the regulator and its partners. Young noted that, while engagement with the illegal market remains relatively low, a particular group of online gamblers continues to use these platforms. Research also indicates that consumers who gamble with illegal operators are more likely to experience gambling-related harm. Young concluded that the UKGC will therefore continue working with government, the gambling industry, technology providers and financial services organisations to disrupt illegal activity and safeguard consumers.