UK lawmakers unite to renew push for gambling advertising reforms
Groups from the Commons and Lords claim the industry breaches voluntary codes.
UK.- Pressure on gambling advertising in the UK continues to mount, with reform advocates in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords renewing their calls for stricter controls. A joint report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform (GRAPPG) and Peers for Gambling Reform (PGR) warns that current measures remain inadequate, leaving children and vulnerable groups exposed.
The document was authored by prominent reform campaigners across the two houses, including the Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith and his fellow APPG co-chair Alex Ballinger MP. From the upper house, Lord Foster of Bath, Chair of the PGR, is also named.
The authors argue that Britain risks lagging behind other jurisdictions in implementing meaningful advertising restrictions. They claim the scale of advertising spend by licensed operators, estimated between £1.25bn and £2bn annually, is excessive and socially harmful, and that the industry regularly breaches its own voluntary codes, such as those drawn up by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).
“The industry has frequently breached its own voluntary codes on responsible advertising,” the report states, adding that social media advertising leaves “children and young people continually exposed to sophisticated marketing that is often not recognised as advertising”.
An overstated black market risk?
The report acknowledged that unlicensed gambling operators exploit similar tactics, but insists that this cannot excuse failings in the regulated sector. As such, the groups caution against the government’s growing emphasis on illegal operators, as demonstrated by the recent announcement of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) illegal gambling taskforce.
“This emphasis risks overlooking the well documented and widespread harms arising from within the regulated sector. A balanced approach is essential,” the authors argue.
The continued scrutiny of gambling advertising will be one of the issues that new BGC chair Kane Purdy has to face as he takes up the role. The BGC recently reported new research suggesting that illegal operators account for almost half of all UK gambling advertising spend. It has warned that share could rise to become the majority within two years.
The research, conducted by the marketing intelligence firm WARC, comes ahead of the upcoming voluntary ban on Premier League front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship and as some licensed operators scale back on marketing in a bid to absorb the rise in British remote gaming tax.
However, lawmakers’ report argues that such industry-commissioned estimates are unreliable. It cites the Gambling Commission’s caution that illegal market growth is often overstated, and references Paddy Power co-founder Stewart Kenny’s admission that the threat has historically been exaggerated to resist regulation and tax reform.
The report also disputes the argument that a highly visible regulated sector protects consumers from illegal operators. Instead, it contends that expanding advertising stimulates new demand, inevitably producing more people seeking unlicensed platforms, including those who self-exclude from regulated gambling.
The authors also suggest that the boundary between legal and illegal markets is sometimes blurred, stating that some licensed firms operate in grey jurisdictions abroad, and that some unlicensed operators are subsidiaries of licensed companies, and that technology providers supply software across both. This, they argue, demonstrates a need for stronger, enforceable regulation across the entire ecosystem.
The report shows that advocates for reform remain dissatisfied with the conclusions of the Gambling Act review and intend to continue to press for advertising restrictions.
