From websites to money and assets
The Gambling Commission is taking its fight against illegal gambling beyond the websites. It will now also go after the money, assets and business models that keep illegal operators running. The regulator announced the shift on 9 November, the opening day of the first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week.
Its executive director of operations spelled out what that means in practice: interfering with the operators' payments, hampering their advertising and cutting off their supply of games and sportsbooks. According to the Commission, the approach builds on earlier disruption work with partners. The aim, it says, is to protect consumers and support licensed operators while tackling the crime that comes with illegal gambling.
The figures so far
A progress report released alongside the statement gives the following figures, each over its own period.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Suspected criminal funds referred to partner agencies for possible asset freezing, since January | More than £40 million |
| Cease and desist notices issued to illegal operators in 2026/27 so far | More than 1,000 |
| Websites referred for disruption action, to date | More than 2,200 |
| URLs referred to search engines, to date | More than 7.8 million |
| URLs removed from search results, to date | More than 3 million |
Search referrals up more than 5,000%
The steepest climb is in referrals to search engines. The Commission passed on 147,721 URLs in Quarter 1 and 7.7 million in Quarter 2, a rise it puts at more than 5,000%.
Law enforcement, finance and tech
The Commission says it will go on working closely with law enforcement, the gambling industry, technology companies and the financial sector to track down and disrupt illegal gambling. Intelligence sharing, early reporting, data and evidence support, strategic engagement and consumer protection make up the rest of the effort.
UK industry leaders were briefed at the Commission's CEO Briefing the week before the announcement, and international partners at the IAGR Conference in October.
Illegal Gambling Awareness Week
The awareness week runs from 9 to 13 November. Held for the first time, it is an international initiative led by the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) to make the risks of illegal gambling better known. The Commission is backing it as a chance to highlight those risks for consumers and for the industry.
Licensed operators and the register
Every business the Commission licenses is on its public register, and a UKGC licence can be checked there by business name, trading name, domain or account number. The measures announced on 9 November are aimed at the operators missing from it.