The UK’s Gambling Commission has sent a stark warning to illegal gambling operators, stating that “we are coming after you, your business and your money”.
It forms part of the initial message that the regulator has sent to unlicensed platforms at the beginning of Illegal Gambling Awareness Week.
The Commission has hit back at critics of its apparent stagnation in tackling the black market on these shores, making the public aware that it has issued over 1,000 cease and desist notices to illegal operators in 2026/27 so far.
It has also referred 7.8 million URLs to search engines, been the cause of three million URLs being removed from search results and referred 2,200 websites for disruption action.
The regulator looks to be making both the public and the licenced sector that it is fully aware of the threat of the black market and is making progress on subduing that threat.
Gambling Commission acknowledges danger
It follows organisations like the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), and business leaders such as Betfred owner Fred Done and Entain Chief Executive Officer, Stella David, making multiple references to just how commonly-used black market platforms are in this era.
The BGC has gone as far as claiming that bets on illegal operators’ platforms will exceed £1bn for the 2027/28 Premier League season.
However, the Commission is clearly heeding these warnings, and Sue Young, the Commission’s Executive Director of Operations, has outlined what is coming next.
“We’ve already shown we can take down and disrupt individual websites and now we’re going further,” Young said.
“That means us interfering with illegal operators’ whole business models, disrupting their payments, hindering their advertising and stopping them from obtaining the games and sportsbooks they so heavily rely on.
“Since January we have already referred over £40 million of suspected criminal funds to partner agencies for potential asset freezing as well as continuing to work with law enforcement agencies to seize cash at illegal land-based gambling operations.
“By widening the net and focusing beyond removing websites our mission is to hit illegal operators on all sides.”
“If you run an illegal gambling operation, we are coming after you, your business and your money.”
Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations, Gambling Commission
References to hindering payments and advertisements are key, as incorporating payments service providers (PSPs) and social media platforms (the primary source of marketing for these platforms) has been something which many who have a vested interest in tackling this problem have suggested.
The latter is starting to be seen in countries including Finland and the Philippines, while others continue to struggle to work with Big Tech platforms such as Meta. This has even led to Dutch trade body, VNLOK, summoning Meta to court.
And the former has been cited as something needing to be critically addressed to intervene with players depositing onto illegal operators’ platforms.
Alex Wood, part of BBC Radio 4’s Scam Secrets team, recently told SBC News that taking out PSPs is “the only thing that can be done”, but that the increased prevalence of crypto payments adds another spanner in the works.
For the licenced industry, this clear message will come as welcome news, as it shows that the Commission is taking its new responsibilities of eliminating the black market, or at least subduing it, seriously.
Coupled with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Illegal Gambling Taskforce – another initiative which has come in for some criticism – the signs point towards both the regulator and the government taking gradual steps towards seriously addressing the threat facing UK consumers and licenced operators.
However, the industry has also found itself in the position where government bodies like the Commission and DCMS Taskforce are attempting to crack down on the black market, all the while HM Treasury increases taxes on the regulated sector – something the likes of the BGC, BHA, Entain and Betfred argue ultimately aid the black market.
