Cracking Down on Illegal Online Gambling with AKTEK iS

The Growing Threat of Digital Black Markets

Online gambling has grown rapidly, but not all of it operates within regulatory boundaries. Behind licensed platforms lies a parallel ecosystem: offshore operators, affiliate networks, and promotional funnels that lead users to unregulated, and often illegal, gambling sites.

These digital operations thrive by blending into everyday internet activity, targeting consumers through paid ads, SEO manipulation, influencer promotions, and loophole-heavy platforms.

A consulting firm engaged AKTEK to answer these essential questions:

How big is the problem? How does it work? And how can we uncover it?

Our Approach: Structured Digital Investigations in Action

To uncover this opaque landscape, AKTEK's Integrated Services (AKTEK iS) deployed its full investigative methodology, combining open-source web intelligence from AKTEK iQ's intelligence feeds, digital ecosystem mapping, and network visualization in AKTEK iO.

We began by identifying and indexing thousands of websites, ads, apps, and search result entries linked to gambling-related queries. Our team traced which actors were promoting unlicensed platforms, how they acquired traffic, and how their operations were monetized.

As patterns emerged, we mapped relationships between domains, shared hosting infrastructure, redirect links, and promotional channels. We also identified affiliate pathways that used mainstream ad platforms, search engines, and social content to route users toward offshore operators.

All intelligence was structured, analyzed, and visualized in AKTEK iO, providing the client with a clear understanding of how these systems worked, where their exposure was highest, and which networks were worth prioritizing for intervention.

What Our Investigation Uncovered

Our investigation revealed a far more sophisticated illicit market than anticipated.

Key findings included:

• Illegal channelization was worse than expected: A large share of user traffic was siphoned to unlicensed operators.
• Offshore tax havens dominated: Platforms based in Curaçao, Malta, and similar jurisdictions led much of the activity.
• Affiliates operated in a legal gray zone: Many "homegrown" affiliates actively promoted illegal sites while staying technically within domestic regulations.
• Dual promotion blurred the lines: Many affiliates were simultaneously promoting both licensed and unlicensed platforms, making it difficult for enforcement agencies or advertising platforms to distinguish between compliant and illicit activity.
• Mainstream platforms enabled illicit activity: Legal payment gateways (including major credit card processors)  and major ad platforms like Facebook were unknowingly supporting unlicensed operations.
• The ecosystem was highly cross-border: Operators and affiliates functioned seamlessly across territories, fragmenting enforcement capabilities.

From Insight to Impact

AKTEK delivered a complete picture of the digital gambling black market, from entry points and traffic sources to monetization paths and ecosystem enablers.

The client used this intelligence to:

• Identify key actors and affiliates operating at the heart of the issue
• Understand the methods used to acquire users and mask intent
• Support regulators with structured, cross-border insights
• Begin designing intervention strategies focused on disrupting infrastructure, not just individual sites
• Quantify the real scope of the problem, helping estimate the volume of illegal activity and the associated tax revenue loss to governments

This wasn’t just another monitoring exercise, it was a foundational step in reshaping how regulators and enforcement bodies understand and combat digital black markets.

Beyond Gambling: A Model for Tackling Illicit Digital Economies

While this case focused on illegal gambling, the investigative capabilities demonstrated by AKTEK iS apply to a broad range of complex digital challenges. Many online illicit ecosystems rely on similar digital behaviors, strategic keyword use, third-party promotion, and monetization through platforms that may not be aware of their role.

Our team can help uncover the real scale and structure behind:

• Falsified medicines distributed through unregulated online pharmacies
• Illegal streaming and pirated content platforms that monetize through ads and paid access
• Counterfeit goods and illicit e-commerce marketplaces that exploit global platforms
• Wildlife trafficking and environmental contraband promoted and sold through hidden supply chains

These issues can’t be addressed through assumptions. They require structured, intelligence-led investigation. That’s where AKTEK comes in, with the tools and know-how to surface digital threats and guide smarter disruption strategies.

Partner with AKTEK iS

If you’re an organization working on complex, digital-first threats, from black market economies to digital crimes with real-world consequences, AKTEK iS is your investigative ally.

We combine the power of structured intelligence management (AKTEK iO), advanced data (AKTEK iQ), and seasoned analysts to help you:

• Quantify illicit market activity
• Map supply chains from source to monetization
• Identify disruption points
• Produce evidence-based reporting for policy, enforcement, or intervention

Learn how AKTEK iS can help your organization.