Gambling Commission Takes Serious Steps to Thwart Rogue Operators

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has acknowledged geo-blocking has been effective in the ongoing effort to curb the rise of black market operators. Indeed, the UKGC has resorted to disruption activities to ward off illegal online gambling.

The Commission has published a report discussing its research into rogue sites, and it appears its activities are having the desired effect. The research is timely, given the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will deliver her budget next month, and it is widely anticipated that gambling taxes will surge, prompting fears that this could drive bettors towards black market operators.

Domain success

From its most recent findings, the UKGC discovered that more websites are being referred for removal. In Q4, which covers April to June 2025, 197 more websites were referred to search engines for removal compared to the figures released for Q1.

In addition, 147 referrals were made to registrars or hosts. In terms of action taken, 214 of the flagged websites were removed from search engines, while 108 other sites were geo-blocked or ring-fenced in Q4.

More broadly speaking, the UKGC has stepped up its efforts to expand its disruption efforts across the major social media platforms. It has focused its attention on TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, and in the quarter covering April to June 2025, 84 illegal lottery URLs were removed from social media platforms.

Other preventative measures taken

However, it’s not just referrals to search engines that are reaping the rewards for the UKGC. The recent report illustrated that the regulator’s black market team has issued 3,140 cease-and-desist disruption notices since April 2024.

By Q3, cease-and-desist orders totalled 2,032, and the UKGC admits collaboration has been at the heart of its approach. Yes, the UKGC has teamed up with other international regulators to clamp down on black market gambling sites, and that includes the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA).

The UKGC has also worked closely with Microsoft and Google to expedite the referral process and improve search engine coverage. Both measures have been praised for limiting the success of black market operators as well as taking clear enforcement action.

Gambling Commission sets out its roadmap

While the UKGC admits to being in the early stages, there are some underlying reasons to be happy, and that is mostly centred around changes to how URLs are structured. Indeed, the UKGC feels emboldened by some of its successes.

In its reports, the UKGC said: “We recognise that this work is at an early stage, but the signs of progress are encouraging. We remain committed to building our capability, sharing our approach internationally, and working with the industry to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of the regulated market.

“While our approach is still developing, we are already seeing signs of impact. Illegal operators are beginning to change tactics in response to our interventions. These behaviours indicate that our disruption efforts are having an effect and are prompting evasive action.

“As the illegal marketplace evolves, we will remain alert to these changes and continue to adapt our strategy to ensure we respond quickly to emerging threats.”

The roadmap has been set, and the building blocks have been put in place. Therefore, the UKGC can’t lose sight of its overriding goal if it is going to cull more rogue operators moving forward.

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