Gambling Commission removes 3.04 million URLs in six months
Enforcement & compliance2 min read
In brief
- The UKGC said 3,038,969 URLs were removed in the first six months of the 2026/27 financial year.
- It sent 1,005 cease-and-desist notices between April and September 2026, against 741 in the previous full year.
The UKGC had 3,038,969 URLs removed in the first six months of the 2026/27 financial year, according to interim chief executive Sarah Gardner. Gardner presented the results at the CEO Briefing on 5 November 2026. In the same period 7,824,932 URLs were reported to search engines. In the previous financial year 397,527 URLs were reported and 266,667 were removed.
Between April and September 2026 the Commission sent 1,005 cease-and-desist notices to advertisers and operators, against 741 in the whole of the previous financial year. The authority also reported 2,201 websites to search engines for delisting, compared with 1,068 in the whole of the previous year. Sites blocked or made inaccessible through enforcement numbered 1,668 in the first six months of the new financial year, against 1,134 in the previous year.
Gardner said the stronger enforcement was also made possible by additional UK government funding of £26m spread over three years. The first tranche was £7m. Gardner said these results are only part of the Commission's activity and that its methods of intervention could change as its analytical tools improve.
The Commission's acting chief also unveiled findings from a fresh study based on the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). In Great Britain, 1% of those surveyed reported using illegal gambling sites in the twelve months before April 2026. Looking only at people who gamble online, and leaving out the National Lottery, the figure is 4%. Gardner accepted that some operators had criticised the GSGB methodology, while maintaining that official statistics need ongoing updates and checks. A recent analysis of open banking data is among the other sources that will complement the survey.
Gardner said the Great Britain gambling market reached £17.5bn in gross gambling yield in the latest financial year, growth of 4.4%. The remote segment, covering casino, betting and bingo, grew 6.9% to £8.3bn in gross gambling yield.
The Commission is finalising its response to the consultation on financial risk assessments, which is expected to be published in the weeks after the briefing. A new five-year Commission strategy is expected in 2027, built around five priorities.