UK Gambling Commission referred 7.7 million illegal gambling URLs in July–September 2026

The UK Gambling Commission referred 7.700.000 illegal gambling URLs to search engines between July and September 2026, according to its latest report. During that quarter, 3.019.291 URLs were removed and 1.835 websites were referred for de‑indexing, in an escalation of action against unlicensed operators targeting British consumers.

Volume of referrals and measures taken

The volume reported for July–September 2026 contrasted with the 147,721 URLs submitted between April and June 2026. For the six‑month period April–September 2026 the regulator reported 7,824,932 URLs to search engines, of which 3,038,969 were removed; it also referred 2,201 sites for de‑indexing, more than double the 1,068 referred in 2025–26. During those six months 1,668 sites were also closed or geoblocked.

Communications, orders and effect on traffic

Between April and September 2026 the Commission issued 1,005 cease-and-desist notices to advertisers and operators, compared with 741 in the previous financial year. The report adds that approximately 77% of affected sites experienced an estimated reduction in traffic following enforcement actions, and that estimated total traffic at sites with sufficient data fell by 18%.

"We’ve continued to push forward with our world leading approach to disruption and now, just over six months since the first £7m of the new funding arrived, we have been able to really start to scale up our capacity," said Sarah Gardner, acting chief executive, in the CEO Briefing.

New Index and consumer behaviour findings

The Commission deployed the Illegal Gambling Index to measure interactions with unregulated gambling pages. Initial data indicate that 2.5% of respondents who had gambled in the last year visited illegal gambling pages in the last month, and 1.5% visited them in the year but not recently. Including non‑players, only 0.6% reported visiting illegal gambling sites in the past four weeks.

"There is more to do. These numbers only paint a picture of some of the activity we’re doing and some of what we need to do…but we are making progress here," added Sarah Gardner.

The UK Gambling Commission said it will continue to collaborate on intelligence gathering and evidence building to frustrate unauthorised firms. Regulatory compliance and actions against advertising are routes the regulator highlighted; the report notes ongoing work with search engines and industry partners. [Regulatory detail](/regulation)