Campaigners Call for Investigations into Gambling Commission and BGC

British regulator the Gambling Commission and industry trade body the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) have both faced criticism from a campaign group regarding alleged black market activity, with a call being made for an independent review of the licensing process.

In a committee meeting at the House of Lords on Wednesday, members of the Campaign to End Gambling Ads (CEGA) alleged the Commission failed to block the Santeda International network, after CEGA conducted an investigation into MyStake and Donbet; both sites are believed to operate within the network and both are currently accessible from the UK without the use of a virtual private network.

According to CEGA, the Commission has been aware of both sites since January 2025, but has not taken the necessary action to block them in Great Britain. CEGA also questioned why several suppliers were granted licenses by the Commission after their games were found to have been offered on these sites.

The report made a request for the Commission to immediately block the two sites in question, as well as for an investigation into the Commission’s licensing process. CEGA also wants the Commission to look into which licensed software providers appeared on the sites and whether action needs to be taken against them.

Santeda International scandal

According to a previous report by GAMRS, Santeda International is estimated to generate £3.5 billion annually. Will Prochaska, Director of CEGA, said:

“It would be a scandal if games developers that hold licenses in Great Britain are confirmed to be supplying illegal gambling websites.

“The situation betrays the continuing association between gambling and crime, which the Gambling Commission has a statutory duty to prevent. Urgent reform is needed, and all new gambling license applications should be paused whilst the Gambling Commission’s licensing regime is investigated.”

Commission comments

A Commission spokesperson told Betting.co.uk:

“We actively pursue action against illegal operators. The burden of proof required to bring a successful prosecution is high, and this is not always apparent when looking at evidence from a solely research perspective. This is why we use a range of different techniques alongside enforcement and criminal action.”

According to the report, five of the supplier names appearing on the sites are members of the BGC. The BGC has been extremely vocal on the topic of the black market in recent times, in part as an attempt to prevent further regulation such as the increased remote gaming duty, which went up from 21% of gross gaming yield to 40% in April.

CEGA calls for BGC suspension

CEGA has demanded the BGC be removed from the UK’s Illegal Gambling Taskforce until it can be confirmed that none of its members are taking part in unlicensed gambling in Great Britain and overseas.

Making a defence for the BGC, the body’s Chief Executive Grainne Hurst claimed the games from the licensed suppliers had been cloned. Hurst is quoted as saying:

“I would like to make it crystal clear that any accusation that our members do not take black market activity seriously is completely false.

“We have spoken to all of the members involved who have categorically denied that they are supplying the black market, and I think what this actually shows – although I haven’t seen the evidence despite regularly asking for the report until it was published this morning – is the sophistication of the criminality of the illegal market in effectively cloning our BGC members’ games, making them look legitimate and stealing their IP.”