UK Gambling Commission creates new senior anti-illegal gambling role
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has listed a job opening for a new role that will be shaping and leading its approach to illegal gambling.
UKGC establishes ‘Head of Illegal Markets’ role
The position, listed as ‘Head of Illegal Markets’, is described by the UK’s official gambling regulator as a “high-profile position with frequent exposure to external stakeholders, as well as the Executive Team and Board.”
It is listed with a salary of £65,000 per annum, and the position is available either on a full-time basis of 37 hours per week or part-time at a minimum of 30 hours per week.
Applications for the position are being accepted until 24 May, with interviews set to take place from 5 to 9 June.
The UKGC stated that the individual who is chosen for the position will be expected to coordinate and direct resources from the regulator’s enforcement and intelligence functions, while also working closely with the illegal markets and sports betting integrity units, along with several other teams, including legal.
Detailing some of the responsibilities attributed to the position, the UKGC stated that the Head of Illegal Markets will be expected to “identify and manage risk, novel and contentious issues, and precedent-setting products,” while also “providing tactical and strategic resolutions.”
The regulator said that the role “plays a critical part” in delivering its broader strategy to combat illegal gambling. It commented that the chosen individual will be directly contributing to the creation of a “safer and more transparent gambling environment across Great Britain.”
Furthermore, the UKGC stated that the work carried out through this position will also inform policy decisions at the highest levels, “contributing to both national and international responses to illegal gambling practices.”
Recent boost to UKGC funding
The UKGC’s Executive Director of Research and Policy, Tim Miller, has previously said that the regulator and licensed operators cannot handle the problem presented by the illegal gambling market alone.
Towards the end of 2025, the UKGC received a funding increase of around £26 million committed over three years by the HM Treasury. That additional funding was allocated with the intent of combating illegal gambling within the UK.
The CEO of the UKGC at the time, Andrew Rhodes, had referred to this budgetary increase as an unprecedented one within his twenty years of experience in the public sector.
Rhodes had said that such an investment by the HM Treasury represented a direct commitment by the government towards strengthening oversight, and this commitment now seems to be getting deepened with the regulator’s efforts to recruit a dedicated senior official who will be focusing practically exclusively on combating illegal gambling markets.
UK black market growth
According to research by H2 Gambling Capital (H2GC), and as recently discussed by the UK Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the UK black market betting volume has gone up to around £16.6 billion in 2025. The BGC commented that this figure represents an increase of about triple what the volume was in 2019.
With those numbers in mind, considering the rapid expansion of the illicit market, it is to be expected that the UK’s regulatory body, as well as the government as a whole, would increase efforts in curtailing this growth. Whether such efforts will prove to be fruitful remains to be seen.
Recent initiatives put forth by the government, such as the increase in the Remote Gaming Duty, have drawn criticism from industry experts, with some arguing that it inadvertently serves as a boon to the black market.
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