UK gambling ad spend shifts towards unregulated firms
New figures suggest growth in UK gambling advertising is being driven not by licensed bookmakers and casinos, but by operators outside the regulated system. The country’s gambling advertising market is on course to reach almost GBP 1.9bn (€2.18bn) by the autumn of 2026, but regulated operators are pulling back, while unregulated firms are expanding fast, especially online.
The data comes from a report, prepared by market intelligence group WARC for the trade association the Betting and Gaming Council, and points to a widening gulf between the two sides of the market. It shows that while total gambling advertising spend is forecast to grow by 5.4 per cent, licensed firms are expected to cut back under tax and margin pressure, leaving more room for unregulated competitors.
Advertising spend by regulated companies is forecast to fall 9.2 per cent, down GBP 107m (€123m) to GBP 1.05bn (€1.21bn) this year. Spending by unregulated companies, by contrast, is projected to rise 32 per cent to GBP 845m (€971m).
During the pandemic, regulated companies accounted for 83.8 per cent of gambling advertising spend. That share is now projected to fall to 52.3 per cent, and the report says it is likely to drop below half by 2028.
Online growth widens the divide
“Within display media, legacy channels – predominantly associated with regulated operators – are expected to decline sharply (-11.5 per cent) following the introduction of new taxes on gambling profits,” the report says. “In contrast, online media, which includes a significant proportion of unregulated operators, is projected to grow by 14.0 per cent.”
The BGC report also points to sponsorship as a growing concern. “Unregulated firms are set to account for all growth in sponsorship spend this year and next and will account for more than half of spend by October 2027,” it says.
Pressure on platforms and policymakers
Pressure is also building on major online platforms, which have become central to the spread of gambling advertising. Google said it blocked or removed more than 270 million gambling-related ads in 2025, while Meta has been criticised after reports that illegal gambling promotions continued to appear on its platforms in countries where such advertising is banned. The growth of unregulated advertising is being driven not only by the operators placing the ads, but by uneven enforcement from the platforms carrying them.
Google insists that may be starting to change. “More than 99 per cent of policy-violating ads were blocked before being served,” said Keerat Sharma, Google’s vice-president and general manager for Ads Privacy and Safety. “Our models analyse hundreds of billions of signals, including account age, behavioural patterns and campaign activity, to stop threats before they reach people.”
That uncertainty has become more politically sensitive in the UK, where ministers and the Gambling Commission are trying to tighten consumer safeguards without pushing gamblers towards offshore sites. The Betting and Gaming Council has previously warned that about 1.5 million UK consumers are now using unlicensed platforms generating an estimated GBP 10bn (€11.49bn) a year.
The new BGC research suggests the battle is no longer only about who takes bets, but who wins attention. If licensed operators are cutting television, radio and other traditional campaigns while unregulated rivals flood search, social media and sponsorship, the centre of gravity in gambling advertising may already be shifting beyond the reach of the rules designed to control it.
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