The UK government has announced the launch of a dedicated cross-industry group, the Illegal Gambling Taskforce, aimed at strengthening the fight against unlicensed online casinos and betting and reducing the outflow of players to offshore operators, where basic checks and consumer protection tools are absent.
The group is being launched under the leadership of the Minister for Gambling, Baroness Twycross. According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the goal over the next year is to bring together those who directly influence traffic and financial flows: tech companies, advertisers, social media platforms, and payment services.
Industry representatives have previously engaged in public debate with the government over taxes, warning that the stricter the conditions, the more players move to unlicensed sites. Despite this, the authorities confirmed tax increases for the online segment: Remote Gaming Duty will rise from 21% to 40% from April 2026, with an additional remote duty on online betting starting from 1 April 2027. At the same time, the government promises to intensify efforts against the black market.
The Betting and Gaming Council supported the initiative but once again highlighted the scale of the problem: around 1.5 million Britons already play in the unlicensed segment, with annual turnover reaching up to £4.3 billion. The industry believes that increasing the tax burden could accelerate migration to offshore operators, where there is no age verification, responsible gambling tools, or consumer protection mechanisms.
Separately, this is important for affiliates: in official materials on the UK market, the regulator explicitly mentions measures against unlicensed operators, advertisers, and affiliates, including cease-and-desist requirements and notices aimed at blocking or disrupting operations. The same materials cite a figure of 287,961 links removed since April 2024 following regulatory requests.
- Public statement: linkedin.com
