British Gambling Commission adapts to illegal market’s “unusual advertising methods”

The regulator says increasingly elaborate techniques employed by unlicensed operators were a sign that the regulator’s enforcement work is having an effect.

UK.- The British Gambling Commission has said that it is adapting its structure and tools to changes in the unlicensed gambling market. The regulator said that its Illegal Markets Team was responding to new trends, including the rotation of domains, the rise of crypto gaming and challenges such as AI-generated branding, deepfakes, copied content and decentralised platforms, which are requiring it to strengthen technical knowledge and capabilities.

Director of Enforcement and Intelligence John Pierce said the commission’s Financial Intelligence Team was already seeing results in relation to the targeting of financial accounts associated with illegal gambling, though it recognised that the international nature of the issue presents investigative challenges. He suggested that the increasingly elaborate techniques employed by unlicensed operators were a sign that the regulator’s enforcement work is having an effect.

“Illegal operators are rapidly adapting their tactics, using domain rotation, cloaking, and embedding gambling content in unrelated websites,” Pierce said. ”Some sites change their display depending on the device used, while others employ unusual advertising methods such as Google Maps to draw in users.

“These behaviours, while presenting new challenges, indicates that illegal operators are having to adapt their approach in response to our work and our interventions are having some impact.”

Investment in new monitoring tools for unlicensed gambling

Pierce highlighted recent traffic data from 160 websites targeted for enforcement action, which showed a 32 per cent drop in British user engagement following reassessment after three months. However, he noted that disruption often leads to displacement elsewhere, requiring activel monitoring of the marketplace. For this, the regulator had updated its processes by investing in data science techniques to automate how its extracts and analyses consumer footprint data, helping the regulatore to respond faster and more effectively to illegal activity, he said.

Other investments have included the introduction of specialist tools to support the Illegal Markets Team to conduct secure website reviews, anonymised access and targeted test purchasing. These capabilities are allowing the regulator to verify jurisdictional targeting, gather evidence and assess the availability of illegal gambling products to British consumers, he said.

“While we can’t review every site, this approach helps us focus on those we believe are causing the most harm, or where our disruption efforts will have the greatest impact,” Pierce added. ”On a practical level, test purchasing remains challenging due to identification and payment verification requirements, but it provides critical evidence; especially banking details that can be referred to Visa and Mastercard. Work is also underway with PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay to extend our reach.”

To reduce visibility of illegal operators, the Gambling Commission has developed referral pathways with major search platforms; Google, Bing, and Yahoo, which together account for around 97 per cent of the Internet Search Engine market in Great Britain. These partnerships enable automatic delisting of illegal content, intelligence sharing, and early disruption.

The regulator has also been expanding its efforts to include social media platforms like Meta, TikTok, X, and YouTube to tackle illegal advertising.

See also:British Gambling Commission announces new rules for deposit limits

Pierce said in the update: “Looking ahead, strengthening our understanding of advertising channels, financial flows and collaborating more closely with the financial sector will be key. Exploring options to develop joint initiatives with other regulators internationally is also taking place to develop a co-ordinated international response”.

He added: ”Illegal gambling is not a static threat—it is adaptive, opportunistic, and increasingly embedded in digital ecosystems on the international stage. Through targeted disruption, strategic partnerships, and continued investment in capability, we are building a resilient and effective framework to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of the regulated sector. We are making progress—and we are committed to going further.

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