The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is taking a strong stance against unregulated gambling markets, particularly focusing on prize draws and competitions. CEO Andrew Rhodes has announced that the regulator will publish a report on the black market sector in the spring of 2025, outlining its strategy to identify and take down unlicensed online gambling operators.
One key development is the introduction of a new cease-and-desist process aimed at firms offering illegal prize draws and competitions. This move is supported by UK government agencies such as HM Revenue and Customs and the National Crime Agency.
Rhodes emphasized the regulator’s commitment to increasing investment, resources, and capacity to combat illegal gambling, which is seen as an economic threat and a crime impacting society. The UKGC’s priorities for 2025 include improving processes to tackle illegal markets more effectively and making it difficult for illegal gambling to operate on a large scale in Great Britain.
The UKGC’s strategy for 2025 focuses on data-driven action and collaboration with international regulators, technology partners, and search engines. Recent successes against unlicensed operators include blocking URLs, denying payments, and making illegal online sites inaccessible. The Commission has issued over 750 cease-and-desist notices, flagged more than 78,000 URLs for removal by Google and Microsoft, and taken down 255 websites.
By using data analytics to enhance enforcement efforts, the UKGC aims to proactively target illegal operators. The Commission has established partnerships with tech giants like Google and Microsoft to remove black market gambling content from search results. It also plans to collaborate with enforcement bodies and payment providers to disrupt illegal transactions.
Additionally, the UKGC will conduct research to understand why some bettors choose to use unregulated operators and what motivates their decisions. This comprehensive approach demonstrates the regulator’s dedication to tackling the black market and protecting consumers in Great Britain.