Gambling and betting: over £2 billion spent on advertising in the UK in 2024
In 2024, gambling and betting companies operating in the United Kingdom spent more than £2 billion on advertising and marketing. The estimate, produced by WARC and reported by The Guardian, describes an “astronomical” figure for a sector that has significantly expanded its presence across traditional and digital media in recent years.
Analysts portray an industry that has consolidated a media presence comparable – and in some cases superior – to long-established sectors such as automotive, telecommunications and cosmetics. The phenomenon extends far beyond display advertising, encompassing social media campaigns, influencer marketing, SEO strategies, sponsorships and, above all, affiliate programmes, which now play an increasingly decisive role in competition between operators.
Print, digital and affiliates: where the money goes
The £2 billion figure covers a broad range of channels, now deeply interconnected within the sector’s acquisition strategies. The rapid expansion of digital campaigns, particularly on social media platforms, has made precise measurement more complex. For this reason, some analysts believe the true cost could exceed £2.5 billion.
A substantial proportion of spending has been channelled into digital platforms, where operators can reach younger and more responsive audiences. Added to this are affiliate programmes – systems in which websites, influencers and content creators are paid to direct qualified traffic towards online bookmakers and casinos. This mechanism exponentially amplifies visibility and strengthens competition within the regulated market.
A sector outspending its online gaming tax revenue
The most striking aspect – and the one that has fuelled public debate – is the gap between advertising investment and the tax revenue generated by online gaming. According to analysts, taxes collected from remote gaming amount to around £1.2 billion, significantly lower than the amount companies spend to promote their services.
For many observers, this represents a paradox: the sector invests more in advertising than it contributes to the Treasury in direct taxation. For others, it reflects an extremely competitive market in which visibility is essential for survival and for preventing market saturation.
The Betting and Gaming Council disputes the figures
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the industry’s main trade association, has contested the WARC estimate. According to the BGC, actual advertising expenditure – excluding National Lottery products – is closer to £1 billion and has in fact declined compared with 2018, when earlier research suggested a total of around £1.5 billion.
The association also notes that approximately 20% of advertising from licensed operators is dedicated to voluntary responsible-gaming messaging. The sector, the BGC argues, is actively involved in supporting educational campaigns and providing transparent information about gambling risks and available protections.
A shifting political landscape
The issue of record-breaking advertising spend has also returned to the centre of political and regulatory attention. It gained prominence ahead of the presentation of the 2025 Budget, in which the UK government approved a reform of taxation on remote gaming and online betting. The measures have been formally adopted and are scheduled to come into force at a later date: the Remote Gaming Duty will rise to 40% from 1 April 2026, while online sports betting will be taxed at 25% from 2027.
These tax increases were partly motivated by the sector’s substantial advertising expenditure, which many MPs interpret as evidence of its ability to contribute more to public finances. However, industry representatives warn that excessive taxation could push consumers towards illegal operators who do not pay taxes and offer no consumer safeguards.
Advertising’s role between the regulated market and the illegal one
According to several analysts, the key issue concerns the relationship between advertising and market safety. A drastic reduction in promotional campaigns by regulated operators could create a vacuum in which offshore operators – often highly aggressive in digital activity and not bound by compliance requirements – might expand their presence more easily.
Advertising investment is not solely commercial; it also serves to maintain a protective presence in the digital space, ensuring that average users encounter brands that comply with safeguarding rules, deposit limits, identity verification and self-exclusion systems.
This, the sector argues, is essential to preventing the spread of an increasingly sophisticated and harder-to-detect black market.
A level of spending that reshapes the market
The year 2024, therefore, stands as a watershed moment. Reaching the £2 billion threshold in marketing spend marks a record that is reshaping the relationship between gambling and the wider media economy. The gambling sector confirms itself as one of the most active in the competition for visibility, outpacing historically dominant industries and consolidating an advertising model built on affiliations, digital-first content and constant presence across social platforms.
At the same time, this surge raises crucial questions: Is such a high level of spending sustainable in a market facing increasing fiscal pressure? Is commercial visibility enough to maintain competitiveness in the face of illegal operators? And what consequences will all this have for consumer protection?
This article was first published in Italian on 2 December 2025.
Be part of the action! Join the world’s biggest iGaming community with SiGMA’s Top 10 News countdown. Subscribe HERE for weekly updates, insider insights, and exclusive subscriber-only offers.
