The number of illegal gambling websites being accessed by UK gamblers has increased in 2025 from 364 in May 2024 to 535 in July 2025, according to a recently published report by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission.
As recently reported by Coventry Observer, recent evidence suggests that the UK remains the safest environment in the world for online gamblers, but for how long will this last?
Due partly to the ever-changing nature of internet search engine algorithms, UK gamblers are becoming more at risk of unlicensed operators due to search engines such as Google.
Speaking to Iain Fenton, Director of the UK’s leading gambling research and affiliate website Slotshawk.com, the data indicates that UK online casinos are still at the forefront of player safety:
“UK online casinos adhere to the most stringent laws surrounding player safety which no other country comes close to”, Fenton stated.
“However, this should not be taken for granted and one look at Google searches for gambling keyword terms shows just how at risk UK consumers of online casino games are becoming.”
Such conversations have been accelerated too due to recently updated gambling laws which have implemented stake limits as well as affordability checks.
UK gamblers at risk due to Google’s search engine algorithm
According to data from The Betting and Gaming Council, UK gamblers are at a higher risk of danger due to landing upon unlicensed online casinos via Google search results.
“Overall, our analyses have found that usage of and spend with unlicensed online gambling operators in the UK has grown over the last 1-2 years,” the data stated in the review of unlicensed online gambling in the UK.
“Consumers are still exposed to a significant number of unlicensed operators through search results for key gambling terms on Google, although the number of operators identified has fallen markedly since 2018.”
According to research by SearchEngineLand, Google Search is constantly changing:
“In 2022 alone, Google launched 4,725 changes to their search algorithm which amounts to 13 times per day on average.”
The same data states that Google has gone through three major updates so far in 2025 whilst 2024 saw a record nine major search algorithm updates.
Despite this, Google evidently still has a problem with showing unlicensed casinos to UK internet goers on their search engine who are looking for online gambling websites.
The UKGC and online casinos
The only way to be a legally licensed online casino in the UK is by having a license from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).
There are dozens of different casino licenses which can be obtained, but the UKGC license is the hardest of all to obtain because of the stringent tests it puts the casino operators through.
According to their website, the UKGC tries its best to identify unlicensed gambling operators which are shown to UK citizens via search engines.
The UKGC stated the following in a report they published into illegal online gambling in the United Kingdom:
“There was a notable increase in the number of illegal websites identified in May and June 2025.
“With some active websites being disrupted and closed, and with new websites entering the market, over the period monitored, just over 1,000 unique illegal gambling websites were accessed by consumers in Great Britain.”
Search engines are not the only ones to blame
The upward trend of illegal gambling websites being accessed by British citizens is certainly alarming given that the majority of these illegal sites are based thousands of miles away from UK shores in places such as Curacao.
Much has been said about all of the new laws being implemented in the UK which are ‘designed to keep players safe’, but evidence also suggests that these same new laws are so restrictive that some players are being forced away from licensed casinos directly into the hands of the illegal ones, as Fenton states:
“Certainly, Google inadvertently allowing shady websites the access to the eyes and ears of UK gamblers online is a big reason why so many Brits are playing at illegal casinos. However, the law of unintended consequences has a lot to answer for here too.
“The recent laws involving stake limits and affordability checks has meant that hundreds and maybe thousands of gamblers from our country have almost been forced to turn their backs on safe UKGC licensed casinos who have been forced to place restrictions on their accounts in order to play at unsafe ones which have no restrictions.
“In one situation which I have been made aware of, there was a player who was asked by a casino to show three months of bank statements in order to place a £50 bet.
“For obvious reasons, this player was not comfortable submitting such private documents to a betting website when he did not think it was appropriate to do so.
“Now I am quite certain he just went to play at another UKGC casino, but it is easy to imagine this happening to other players who will then end up playing at an unlicensed casino.
“In this scenario, the laws which were made to prioritise the safety of online gamblers have the opposite effect.”
Written by Mark Sullivan
