Isle of Man regulator targets international illegal gambling
The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) has declared its intention to ramp up efforts in targeting illegal gambling at the international level, detailing its focus on cooperating with authorities and gambling regulators in other jurisdictions.
In a statement published on its website, the Isle of Man regulatory authority stated that while part of its duties involves monitoring for illegal gambling within its jurisdiction, as it commented that it takes illegal gambling and the associated risks very seriously, it said that it also works both locally and internationally with partner agencies in order to provide operational support to foreign authorities so that it can ensure that licensed Isle of Man operators are not operating unlawfully.
It added that it also helps to take down illegal sites and contributes to consumer protection efforts.
Isle of Man regulator’s cooperation with foreign jurisdictions
As part of its efforts to target illegal gambling at an international level, the GSC stated that it has cooperated with a number of foreign jurisdictions, including recent cooperation with Turkiye, where it said that it “has notified operators of foreign prohibitions, enabling counterparts to enforce their market-access rules efficiently”.
In a crackdown on illegal gambling in Turkiye, where over 84,000 illegal gambling sites were shutdown in 2025, it was reported that around 7 per cent of the sites were linked to the Isle of Man.
The GSC continued that such cooperation is a demonstration of its willingness to assist counterparts in other jurisdictions in addressing illegal gambling activity and to protect the integrity and reputation of the Isle of Man’s framework.
It added that it also works to take action and ensure the timely removal of sites which illegally purport to hold a GSC licence “which may appear to be based in or operate through the Isle of Man through IP routing”.
The GSC has also previously entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with other notable national regulators, including the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, the Danish Gambling Authority, the Netherlands Gaming Authority, and the Norwegian Gaming Authority.
Such agreements, the GSC said, provide structured mechanisms for the responsible sharing of information, the coordinated supervision of cross-border gambling activities, and consistency in the application of regulatory standards.
New Intelligence and Enforcement Division within the GSC
With all that said, the GSC remarked that the recent creation of an Intelligence and Enforcement Division within its internal makeup “is intended to rebalance workload across the Commission and allow greater specialisation, including resources dedicated to Perimeter Monitoring”.
This new Intelligence and Enforcement Division, the GSC said, serves to enhance the Commission’s proactive approach to identifying and addressing illegal gambling activity and taking any subsequent action.
Concluding its statement, the GSC said that registers of current and previous licence holders can be found on its website, along with a rundown of all genuine and approved URLs of sites held and used by GSC licensees.
Additionally, the GSC also keeps a public register of websites which it says may fraudulently claim to be licensed in the Isle of Man or may be spoof sites of current licence holders.
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