Gambling Commission launches search for head of illegal markets
Table of contents
- The Gambling Commission is advertising for a head of illegal markets, reporting to director of enforcement and intelligence John Pierce.
- The role carries a salary of £65,000 plus a Civil Service pension contribution.
- The hire is supported by £26m in government funding over three years dedicated to illegal markets work.
The UK Gambling Commission is advertising for a head of illegal markets, as the regulator intensifies its response to a growing unlicensed gambling sector that poses an increasing threat to consumers and the licensed British market.
The successful candidate will report to John Pierce, the Commission’s director of enforcement and intelligence, who has led the regulator’s enforcement and illegal markets activity in recent years.
The role carries a salary of £65,000, plus a Civil Service pension contribution.
Expanding enforcement
The Commission’s 2026 to 2027 business plan makes tackling illegal gambling a central priority, citing a rise in illegal site URLs referred to search engines from just under 27,000 at the start of the previous year to over 117,000 by the end of 2025.
The recruitment is supported by £26m in government funding allocated specifically for illegal markets work over the next three years. The Commission’s business plan profiles the allocation as £7m in 2026 to 2027, £9m in 2027 to 2028, and £10m in 2028 to 2029.
Rising threat
Pierce has been direct about the scale of the challenge. In a post on the Commission’s blog, he said:
“Illegal gambling is not a static threat. It is adaptive, opportunistic and increasingly embedded in digital ecosystems on the international stage. Through targeted disruption, strategic partnerships and continued investment in capability, we are building a resilient and effective framework to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of the regulated sector.”
At the Betting and Gaming Council’s Annual General Meeting in February 2026, executive director Tim Miller called for action on both the supply and demand sides of the illegal market, warning that Britain’s regulated framework needs protecting.
Gambling Minister Baroness Fiona Twycross confirmed at the same event the establishment of an Illegal Gambling Taskforce, bringing together technology firms, law enforcement and advertising bodies to address illegal payments and cross-agency collaboration.
The Commission has also indicated it expects new legislative powers to support its enforcement work, noting in its business plan that legislation currently before Parliament is expected to grant the regulator additional tools to tackle illegal gambling online.
Sector context
Pressure on the regulated sector has grown amid broader market disruption. The rise in Remote Gaming Duty to 40% from April 2026 is a change the industry has warned is accelerating consumer migration to unlicensed sites.
Analysis commissioned by the BGC projects unlicensed operators are on course to outpace licensed ad spend in Britain in 2025 to 2026. A separate Commission update found that VPN usage is complicating efforts to accurately measure the scale of illegal traffic.
The appointment of a dedicated illegal markets leader signals that the Commission intends to treat enforcement against the unlicensed sector as a standalone strategic function. With fresh funding secured and a government taskforce now operational, the broader industry will be watching closely to see how aggressively the Commission moves to close the gap between the licensed and unlicensed markets.
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