A cross-party coalition of UK MPs and peers urged the government to implement sweeping reforms targeting gambling advertising.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Gambling Reform and Peers for Gambling Reform (PGR) published a report on Thursday calling for a vast reform of gambling advertising regulation. It forms part of a wider APPG inquiry into the future of gambling regulation in Great Britain.
The report cited concerns that current measures inadequately protected children and young people from the marketing tactics of the gambling industry.
Gambling advertising market hits £2bn amid digital surge
The report revealed that gambling companies spend between £1.5 billion and £2 billion annually on advertising and marketing.
University of Bristol research from October 2025 found that gambling marketing messages during Premier League broadcasts had tripled from 10,999 to 27,440 between 2023 and 2025, despite the introduction of a football-wide Code of Conduct.
“Our daily lives are now totally saturated with gambling advertising. It is simply everywhere you look, online, on billboards, all over sporting events,” Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, co-chair of the Gambling Reform APPG said.
The group noted a growing concentration of this spending on digital platforms, sports sponsorships and social media channels. It suggested operators were employing techniques that risked normalising gambling among underage audiences.
Alex Ballinger MP, co-chair of the Gambling Reform APPG, said the evidence was clear that early exposure increases the risk of harm later in life.
Self-regulation fails as exposure to gambling ads surges
The report criticised the UK’s current regulatory framework as “inadequate”, particularly regarding online gambling advertising. It attributed failures to weak legislation, ineffective regulatory oversight and the limited impact of industry self-regulation.
Measures such as the “whistle to whistle” broadcasting ban have been described as “ineffective”.
The groups also argued that the UK’s reliance on voluntary industry codes and the Advertising Standards Authority was inadequate.
Regulators, it said, are struggling to manage influencer marketing, which blurs the line between advertising and entertainment. Research confirmed that 79% of children in the UK recall seeing gambling ads on TV, apps and social media.
Key recommendations included:
- A blanket ban on gambling advertising before the 9pm watershed across broadcast and online platforms.
- An end to sports sponsorship with exemptions for horse racing and greyhound racing.
- Restrictions on content marketing and influencer promotions.
- A ban on gambling adverts embedded in children’s video games.
- Prohibitions on high-risk product advertising such as online slots.
- A halt to direct marketing relying on opt-in consent systems.
- Mandatory KYC procedures across the digital advertising supply chain to curb unlicensed operators.
Dutch channelisation figures cast doubt on stricter regulation push
The report’s publication coincides with ongoing debate surrounding the reform of the Gambling Act 2005 and its adaptation for the digital era.
Baroness Twycross, the UK minister for gambling, previously stated her intention to continue reforms that improve consumer protection while supporting a sector she described as making an important economic and societal contribution.
Nevertheless, the groups argued that the UK is lagging behind its international peers, citing recent stricter legislative initiatives in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Australia.
However, Dutch gambling data for 2025 proved this week that implementation of stricter player protection measures had led to a decline in channelisation, which was now below 50% in the Netherlands.
Channelisation is also a rising concern in the UK, and the Betting & Gaming Council has cautioned that overly restrictive regulation risks driving consumers toward unregulated operators. “The priority must be keeping punters in the regulated market where protections are in place, rather than driving them towards harmful unregulated operators,” CEO Grainne Hurst said in a March statement.
The report, however, countered that stronger controls would also limit the appeal of illegal markets, arguing that the illegal market threat was “frequently overstated” by the sector.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/mps-peers-urgent-crackdown-gambling-advertising/
