UKGC Discuss Efforts To Thwart Rogue Operators; Meta Criticised Too

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) have redrawn up battle lines to curb rogue operators. There have been serious concerns about the number of British players engaging with black market sites over the past few months.

On Boxing Day last year, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) revealed up to £100 million could have been wagered illegally.

And the UKGC’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, Tim Miller, gave a keynote speech yesterday at ICE Barcelona. In it, he detailed a plan to tackle shady sites.

Barcelona a breeding ground for new ideas

ICE Barcelona, which runs this week, is one of the gambling industry’s biggest digital gaming exhibitions. Companies showcase their latest innovations, but the event has become a breeding ground for fresh ideas.

Miller emphasised the research the UKGC has conducted to understand the influence of disruptive operators. However, he also flagged the worrying rise of black market gambling.

He said:

“The licensed industry is under threat from illegal operators. Consumers are under threat from illegal operators. The taxpayer is under threat from illegal operators.  And in this battle between creating safe, fair, well-regulated markets on the one hand and harmful, exploitative, tax-dodging criminal options on the other, there must be no option for people to have a foot in both camps.

“It’s time to pick a side, and so we all need to start asking ‘Whose side are you on?”

Action already taken

It would be unfair to suggest that the UKGC has been a bystander in the ongoing black market battle. Miller used his speech to highlight some of the UKGC’s work carried out between April and December 2025:

• 592 Cease and Desists issued to advertisers and operators.
• 327,964 URLs reported to various search engines, with 203,571 URLs removed.
• 839 websites referred to search engines for delisting.
• 627 websites were disrupted, so they have been removed or geo-blocked.

Shade thrown on Meta

Miller also criticised Meta, the owner of social media brands Facebook and Instagram. Indeed, Miller suggested Meta wasn’t doing enough to quash advertising on illegal sites.

He continued:

“Meta has a searchable ad library where you can find all current ads that meet searched keywords. You or I can conduct such a search for ‘not on gam stop’ sites and see for ourselves how many are currently paying Meta to advertise on their platforms. It’s effectively a window into criminality.

“We have engaged with Meta on this, and aside from a few warm words, we have made very limited progress. Their suggestion was that we should deploy AI tools ourselves to monitor and find these ads and then report them.

“I would be very surprised if Meta is incapable of proactively using their own keyword facility to prevent the advertising of illegal gambling. It could leave you with the impression they are quite happy to turn a blind eye and continue taking money from criminals and scammers until someone shouts about it.”

Putting in the hard yards

Curbing the influence of rogue operators is the ultimate endgame for the UKGC. And Miller insists there are plenty of hard yards ahead.

He added:

“No one actor in this space can win this battle alone — we need to work together. We need to work together to ensure there is no room for suppliers and other companies who want to benefit from the legitimate industry whilst also actively undermining our collective efforts to tackle illegal gaming operators.

“Government, regulators, and industry should no longer tolerate anyone having a foot in both camps. It’s time to work together. It’s time to force them to pick a side.”