Regulatory
Blocklist
Definition
A regulator’s published list of gambling websites and operators found to be offering gambling to the jurisdiction’s residents without a licence, used to direct internet service providers, payment providers, app stores and advertisers to block them, and as public notice that the sites are unlicensed.
Key takeaways
- A blocklist is a regulator’s published list of unlicensed gambling sites, used to direct ISP, payment, app-store and advertising blocking.
- Domain blocking is defeated by mirrors; payment and intermediary targeting is more effective, and regulators have shifted toward it.
- The lists are public so that suppliers, affiliates and payment providers can screen against them.
- Listing is the moment many grey-market operators choose between applying for a licence and withdrawing.
Why it matters
Blocklists are the visible edge of enforcement against unlicensed gambling. A regulator that identifies an offshore site serving its residents adds the domain to its list, and the list is the instrument that other parties act on: internet providers block the domains under a legal order or an agreement, payment providers refuse transactions to the listed merchants, app stores remove the apps, search and social platforms refuse the advertising, and affiliates are put on notice that promoting the sites is promoting unlicensed gambling. Italy, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and many Asian and Latin American regulators publish them; Britain publishes enforcement notices rather than a formal list; Brazil's regime began with a large list of domains blocked at launch.
Their effectiveness is contested and measured. Domain blocking is defeated by mirror domains, and lists that grow by hundreds of entries a month are evidence of the game; payment blocking is more effective but is circumvented by payment agents and crypto; app-store removal works until the operator moves to a web app. Regulators have responded by blocking at the level of the operator rather than the domain, by targeting the payment and advertising intermediaries that unlicensed sites depend on, and by publishing the lists so that the industry's own participants (affiliates, suppliers, payment providers) can screen against them.
For the licensed industry, the blocklist is a channelisation tool and a due-diligence resource. Operators and suppliers check counterparties against the lists of every market they serve, affiliates remove listed operators from their pages, and an entity on a regulator's list faces questions in every licence application afterward. Being listed is also the point at which many grey-market operators decide whether to apply for a local licence or withdraw.
Frequently asked questions
How does a site get on a regulator’s blocklist?
By being found to offer gambling to the jurisdiction’s residents without a licence, usually after a warning or a cease-and-desist that was not complied with. Regulators identify sites through monitoring, complaints and payment data.
Does ISP blocking stop unlicensed gambling?
Partly. It deters casual access and raises the cost of operating, but mirror domains and VPNs get around it, which is why regulators pair it with payment blocking and action against intermediaries.
What should an affiliate do if an operator is blocklisted?
Remove it from pages targeting that market. Promoting a listed operator to residents of the jurisdiction is promoting unlicensed gambling, which is an offence in many markets and a breach of every licensed operator’s affiliate agreement.