A health technology website originally developed by an NHS trust has been compromised with promotional content directing British users towards offshore gambling operators, adding to a growing series of incidents involving trusted UK public-sector websites.
The My Therappy platform, created as a resource for stroke patients, was found displaying articles promoting non-UK and non-GAMSTOP casinos. The website had apparently received no legitimate news updates since October 2020 before the gambling material appeared.
The promotional pages were attributed to an author using the name Daniel Reeves and presented offshore and cryptocurrency casinos as options available to British players. The same name has appeared on other gambling-related websites, although there is no confirmed connection between the various profiles.
My Therappy was launched in Devon in 2013 as a health app review service designed primarily for people recovering from strokes. It was originally developed by the neuro-rehabilitation team at Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, which has since been succeeded by Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said the issue had been referred to its digital and cyber-security teams. The organisation is investigating the status of the website domain and said online safety and security were being treated as a priority.
The incident comes amid wider concern over offshore gambling businesses exploiting dormant, outdated or poorly maintained websites to gain visibility through domains associated with trusted organisations.
In August, Scottish Borders Council removed links from its website after 16 of its 69 community council listings were found directing visitors to offshore casino pages. In that case, expired or abandoned domains linked from the council directory had been acquired and repurposed for gambling content.
A separate incident occurred in June when Old Catton Parish Council near Norwich discovered that parts of its website had been replaced with Indonesian-language material promoting online slot games. The council restored the affected pages and reviewed its security arrangements while investigating how the content had appeared.
The cases highlight the wider challenge facing UK authorities as they attempt to limit access to unlicensed gambling services. Operators offering gambling to consumers in Great Britain must hold a Gambling Commission licence, regardless of where the company itself is based. Advertising unlawful gambling to British consumers can also constitute a criminal offence.
The Gambling Commission has significantly increased its disruption activity against the illegal market. Between April and June 2026 alone, it referred 366 websites and more than 147,000 individual URLs to search engines as part of efforts to reduce the visibility of unlicensed gambling services.
The regulator has also warned that illegal gambling websites operate outside the consumer-protection, anti-money-laundering and licensing requirements imposed on regulated businesses. Its 2026 risk assessment identified the expanding illegal market as an increasing source of criminal and financial risk.