UK Gambling Commission issues stern warning to illegal betting sites

At the start of Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, the UK Gambling Commission issued a stern warning in a message sent to unlicensed platforms. The body told illegal operators: "we are after you, your business and your money."

The Commission said that in the 2026/27 period so far it has sent more than 1,000 cease and desist notices. It also said 7.8 million URLs have been reported to search engines, three million URLs have been removed from search results, and 2,200 websites have been referred for blocking. The body defended its progress against the black market and responded to criticism.

Representatives of the betting industry have also drawn attention to how widespread illegal platforms are. The Betting and Gaming Council claimed that betting volume on illegal platforms would exceed 1 billion pounds during the 2027/28 Premier League season. Commission Operations Director Sue Young said the next step is to target businesses' entire business models. Young said payments will be disrupted, advertisements will be blocked, and illegal operators will be cut off from access to the gaming and sports betting content they need.

Young also announced that since January, more than 40 million pounds of suspected criminal proceeds have been passed to partner agencies for asset freezing assessment. The Commission added that it will continue working with law enforcement to seize cash from physical illegal gambling premises.