Scottish Council Website Redirected Users to Illegal Casinos

A Scottish council website contained 16 links that were originally meant to direct users to local council pages but instead redirected visitors to illegal online gambling sites, according to a report by iGaming Today. The links remained active in the council's official directory for an extended period before being discovered.

The links pointed to domains previously used by a platform called Online Borders. Following that platform's closure approximately eight years ago, the domain registrations lapsed and expired. The expired domains were subsequently purchased by unrelated parties and repurposed to promote illegal online gambling operations, effectively hijacking the outdated links still embedded in the council's official website catalog. The problematic links remained live until early August 2026, when they were removed following an inquiry from the BBC.

The case illustrates a recurring vulnerability in institutional websites, where outdated or unmaintained external links to expired domains can be repurposed by unrelated third parties for unrelated and potentially illicit purposes. The incident highlights the need for regular link audits on government and public-sector websites to prevent official platforms from inadvertently directing users toward unregulated or illegal gambling content over time.