Tim Miller, the UK Gambling Commission’s executive director of research and policy, has delivered a stark warning to the industry ahead of his exit from the regulator this autumn.
Speaking with NEXT.io at iGB Live, Miller addressed the presence of companies at the Excel London event that he believes have ties to the black market.
“There are absolutely names that I see on the show floor here today that I would have some concerns about,” Miller said during the conversation.
He challenged the common assumption that the licensed and illegal markets operate as two entirely separate worlds, describing the distinction as far murkier than many acknowledge.
“I think what it indicates is that we talk about the licensed market and the illegal market like they are two coexisting but completely separate entities, and that’s just not the reality. It is a very blurry line between the two of those,” he said.
Miller, who has been with the Gambling Commission for a decade, noted the “valedictory” feeling of speaking at iGB Live’s Sustainable Gambling Zone as his departure draws closer.
When he leaves the regulator in September, he will move on to support governments and regulators in developing gambling regulatory systems around the world.
His conversation at iGB Live, held with Ewa Bakun, director of industry relations at WorldGaming, centred heavily on the challenge of tackling the black market without broader industry cooperation.
Miller argued that too many “key players are not taking their role seriously,” singling out Meta as an example of tech companies “failing British consumers” through a lack of proactivity on illegal market advertising.
He stressed that the regulator’s greatest challenge is not locating illicit sites but preventing them from appearing in the first place, a task that requires unified action across the entire ecosystem.
His appeal was directed with particular focus toward B2B suppliers and affiliates, who he sees as critical yet underperforming actors in the fight against unlicensed operators.
Miller made clear that licensed operators cannot continue to work with businesses that simultaneously support the black market without facing serious consequences.
Those consequences, he warned, could be regulatory or criminal in nature, leaving little room for operators to justify sitting on the fence.
He concluded his remarks with a direct message: “You cannot be using suppliers and affiliates that are also supporting the illegal market.”
