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Trustpilot hosting reviews of UK-unlicensed casinos, Guardian finds
Trustpilot has been hosting review pages for online casinos operating without UK Gambling Commission licenses,
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.The brands identified included MyStake, Velobet, and Goldenbet, all part of the Santeda International network previously exposed in a separate Guardian and Investigate Europe investigation as targeting players who had self-excluded from licensed gambling through GamStop. Operating gambling services in the UK without a license from the Gambling Commission is a criminal offense under the Gambling Act 2005.
Trustpilot's pages for the unlicensed operators reportedly praised them on grounds including game selection and site speed, presented in the same format as pages for licensed businesses. The platform also hosted review pages for affiliate sites that drove traffic to the unlicensed operators. After the Guardian contacted them, Trustpilot removed the review pages for the affiliate sites. It did not remove the review pages for the unlicensed operators themselves.
In a statement, Trustpilot said it operates as an open platform and that a profile on the site does not imply regulatory approval or licensing. It said illegal businesses are not permitted on Trustpilot, that it monitors the space closely, and that it had taken action against 3,400 profiles linked to unlicensed gambling in the previous week alone.
A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson expressed serious concern about the findings, pointing to the illegal gambling taskforce funded by £26m announced in the November 2025 budget.
Labor MP Alex Ballinger, who has campaigned for tougher gambling regulation, told the Guardian there was no justification for promoting sites not permitted to operate in the UK.
The reporting follows a January 2026 inquest into the death of 36-year-old Ollie Long, which ruled that unlicensed operators were part of the "factual matrix" that contributed to his suicide. It is the first inquest finding in the UK to formally implicate the unlicensed gambling market in a gambling-related death.
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Related: Media Reveals Santeda's Dark Casino Empire | The Not-On-GamStop Industry Has a Body Count
