Gambling adverts on illegal sites drop 87%: research

There has been an 87% drop in advertising from licensed gambling operators on illegal sites that infringe copyright laws in the past year.

That’s according to research by WhiteBullet, a data company that specialises in brand safety solutions and provides transparency on digital advertising on IP-infringing websites.

The infringing website list (IWL), which was set up as part of ‘Operation Creative’ in 2013 by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), gave gambling sites an up-to-date list of copyright-infringing sites, allowing them to stop placing adverts on them.

The Gambling Commission, set up in 2005 to regulate the industry, has three objectives that all licensed gambling operators must abide by.

One of the objectives is “ensuring gambling is kept free from crime and disorder”.

In October last year, the Gambling Commission made the placing of digital adverts responsibly a licensing condition for all gambling operators targeting consumers in the UK.

The data gathered by WhiteBullet was on 40 gambling operators that hold a Gambling Commission licence and are current members of the IWL.

Acting detective superintendent Peter Ratcliffe, head of PIPCU, said: “The success of a strong relationship built between PIPCU and the Gambling Commission can be seen by these figures.”

He added: “This is a fantastic example of a joint working initiative between police and an industry regulator.

“We commend the 40 gambling companies who are already using the IWL and encourage others to sign up.”

Tim Moss, CEO of the UK Intellectual Property Office, said: “Partnership work is clearly having a major impact on IP crime across the UK. PIPCU and the Gambling Commission have cut off yet another illicit revenue stream for unscrupulous IP thieves.”