TLDR The UK Gambling Commission released updated data through February 2026 showing no steady growth in illegal gambling activity over 21 months VPN usage jumped roughly 40% after the Online Safety Act rolled out in July 2025, hiding more illegal gambling traffic The Commission’s previous 30% adjustment for VPN-hidden traffic may no longer be enough to capture the full picture Web traffic estimates carry error margins and miss activity through apps or direct connections, making volume measurement unreliable The regulator is seeking input from international regulators and licensed operators to improve its data and enforcement methods
The UK Gambling Commission said this week that rising VPN use is making it harder to track illegal online gambling activity. The regulator published an updated analysis on Tuesday covering data through February 2026.
The update followed a panel discussion on illegal gambling at the Commission’s Spring Evidence Conference in Birmingham in March. Representatives from the industry, the Dutch gambling regulator, and HMRC took part in the event.
Tim Livesley, head of the Commission’s Data Innovation Hub, published the findings in a blog post. The data covers a 21-month period and uses estimated minutes spent on illegal gambling sites as a measure of consumer engagement.
According to the Commission, the data does not show a steady or consistent rise in illegal gambling activity. A spike observed in autumn 2024 did not repeat in the same period of 2025.
The regulator said the pattern points to volatility rather than sustained growth. It also found no clear seasonal trends in the data.
VPN Growth After the Online Safety Act
The rollout of the Online Safety Act in July 2025 led to a jump in VPN use among UK consumers. Data from Ofcom and analytics firm Similarweb confirmed the increase.
Ofcom’s figures showed VPN