UK LEGAL


Whose side are you on? A


mongst the huge numbers of suppliers to the industry exhibiting at ICE, many likely fall into the category called out by Miller of those who “are either indifferent to whether they also facilitate the illegal market or are actively seeking to play both sides”. The message from the Commission is that an operator licensed by them should not be dealing with such suppliers, as they may unwittingly be supporting companies who in turn support those black market competitors that licensees complain about.


While the Commission is yet to publish an estimate of the scale of black market operations in Great Britain (its recent research report concluded that further work to improve its estimates was needed), figures highlighted by Miller from the period April to December 2025 show that it is significant. These included that the Commission issued 592 cease and desist letters, referred over 300,000 URLs to search


22 FEBRUARY 2026


engines and disrupted 627 websites so that they were taken down or geo-blocked. There are limits to the actions the Commission can take, even with potentially increased powers to order IP and domain


Kicking off ICE with a speech on Monday 19 January, the Gambling Commission’s Tim Miller delivered a clear message that the fi ght against illegal operators should not just be a regulatory endeavour - The Commission wants its licensees to take a role by cutting off funding to those who service illegal markets. Northridge Law’s Melanie Ellis delves deeper.


takedowns in the Crime and Policing Bill, primarily due to the international locations of illegal actors. This is why the regulator is now turning to its licensees to assist in its enforcement efforts.


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