UK Gambling Commission reveals extent of online enforcement action
The UK Gambling Commission has revealed that 266,667 URLs linked to illegal gambling were removed from search engines during the 2025/26 financial year, as the regulator prepares to significantly expand its enforcement operations.
Speaking at the International Association of Gaming Regulators conference in Peru on October 20, Acting Chief Executive Sarah Gardner outlined the scale of the regulator’s efforts to disrupt unlicensed gambling.
During the year ending March 2026, the Commission reported 397,527 URLs to search engines, issued 741 cease-and-desist notices to advertisers and operators, and referred 1,068 websites for delisting.
A further 1,134 gambling websites were either taken offline or geo-blocked.
The figures precede a major expansion of enforcement activity, supported by £26 million in additional government funding over three years, including £7 million allocated from April 2026.
Gardner said the additional resources would allow the Commission to pursue more investigations and strengthen its cooperation with search engines, payment providers and law enforcement agencies.
“We know we will never shut down every illegal website or close down every unlicensed gambling premises but our ability to attack this problem with vigour is growing,” Gardner said.
The regulator is also preparing to exercise new powers allowing it to seek court orders suspending IP addresses and domain names associated with illegal gambling operations.
Gardner warned that unlicensed operators expose British consumers to financial losses, data theft and inadequate player protections, while undermining businesses complying with gambling regulations.
She also criticised suppliers and affiliates that maintain commercial relationships with both licensed and illegal operators.
“Again, the good actors who want to uphold industry standards and suppress the illegal market need to work with us to root out the bad,” Gardner said.
The Commission’s expanded enforcement programme will target both online gambling websites and illegal land-based operations, with greater emphasis on disrupting the infrastructure supporting unlicensed businesses.
