The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) reported 7.7 million illegal gambling URLs to search engines between July and September 2026, marking a significant escalation in its efforts to combat unlicensed operators targeting British consumers. Of these URLs, 3,019,291 were removed, while 1,835 websites were referred to search engines for delisting.
The latest figures represent a substantial increase in enforcement activity compared with the previous quarter, when the regulator reported 147,721 URLs to search engines. The Commission has expanded its operations following additional government funding, with £26 million allocated over three years to strengthen its ability to tackle illegal gambling.
Addressing the progress during the regulator’s CEO Briefing, acting chief executive Sarah Gardner highlighted the impact of the investment:
The additional resources have allowed the Commission to increase its enforcement capacity, but further action will be necessary to disrupt unlicensed businesses operating in the UK market.
Sarah Gardner, Acting Chief Executive at UKGC
Enforcement Measures Reach New Levels
The regulator’s activity during the first six months of the 2026–27 financial year highlights the scale of its crackdown. Between April and September, the UKGC issued 1,005 cease-and-desist notices to advertisers and gambling operators, exceeding the 741 notices recorded throughout the entire previous financial year.
During the same six-month period, the Commission reported 7,824,932 URLs to search engines, resulting in 3,038,969 removals. It also referred 2,201 websites for delisting, more than twice the 1,068 recorded in 2025–26. Additionally, 1,668 websites were taken down or geo-blocked, already surpassing the 1,134 recorded throughout the previous financial year.
Enforcement action was taken against 311 illegal gambling websites during Q2 of 2026–27, representing a 38% increase compared with the previous quarter. Following intervention, 77% of the affected websites experienced reduced estimated traffic, while overall traffic across sites with sufficient data fell by 18%.
New Index Measures Illegal Gambling Activity
Alongside its enforcement efforts, the UKGC introduced an Illegal Gambling Index to measure consumer engagement with unlicensed websites. Initial findings indicate that 2.5% of people who gambled during the previous year had accessed illegal gambling websites in the preceding four weeks. Another 1.5% had used such platforms during the past 12 months but not in the most recent four weeks. Across all respondents, including non-gamblers, 0.6% reported using illegal gambling websites in the previous four weeks.
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