The regulator said it is widening enforcement action beyond website disruption as Illegal Gambling Awareness Week begins.
The Gambling Commission said it will increasingly “follow the money” as part of a broader approach to cracking down on illegal gambling, alongside efforts to take down illegal websites.
In a statement marking the start of the first Illegal Gambling Awareness Week, running from 9 to 13 November, the Commission said it has started broadening its focus beyond website disruption to target “the money, assets and business models that support illegal operators”.
Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations, said the Commission would aim to interfere with illegal operators’ “whole business models”, including “disrupting their payments, hindering their advertising and stopping them from obtaining the games and sportsbooks they so heavily rely on”. Young also said that “since January we have already referred over £40 million of suspected criminal funds to partner agencies for potential asset freezing” and that the Commission continues to work with law enforcement agencies to “seize cash at illegal land-based gambling operations”.
The Commission said its disruption work in 2026/27 to date includes more than 1,000 cease and desist notices issued to illegal operators, 7.8 million URLs referred to search engines, 3 million URLs removed from search results, and 2,200 websites referred for disruption action.
It added that URL referrals increased from 147,721 in Quarter 1 to 7.7 million in Quarter 2, representing an increase of more than 5,000%. The Commission said it will continue working with law enforcement agencies, the gambling industry, technology companies and the financial sector to identify and disrupt illegal gambling activity, including through intelligence sharing, early reporting, data and evidence support, strategic engagement and consumer protection.
What it means for players
The Commission said it is stepping up action against illegal operators targeting people in Great Britain, including disrupting payments and referring suspected criminal funds for potential asset freezing.
Source: UK Gambling Commission, 09 November 2026.
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