BGC warns UK lawmakers that excessive gambling ad restrictions could boost illegal operators

The UK's Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has urged lawmakers to take a cautious approach ahead of a parliamentary debate on gambling advertising, warning that excessive restrictions could fuel the growth of illegal operators.

Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, called on Members of Parliament to “pause” before tightening rules, as industry concerns mount over the rising share of advertising by unregulated firms.

“The direction of travel is clear: regulated firms are scaling back their advertising, while the harmful black market grows rapidly. That should give policymakers pause,” Hurst said.

The debate, due to take place this Thursday and organised by the Backbench Business Committee, was proposed by Alex Ballinger and Dr Beccy Cooper, respective MPs for Halesowen and Worthing West. Both have raised concerns about gambling marketing, particularly to protect young people from exposure via social media.

“We need regulatory and legislative tools to tackle industry marketing practices, and we must make sure that children are protected from the proliferation of gambling ads, sponsorship, and influencer marketing,” Cooper said in a previous debate. “We must look to review the White Paper and set a timeline for a new Gambling Act.”

Ballinger has also raised concerns about current safeguards: “There is a real problem in the self-regulation of content marketing. The Advertising Standards Authority has a Committee of Advertising Practice code of practice that requires gambling marketing communications to be clearly identifiable as such, but again and again, we are not seeing that followed.

"The evidence is clear. The public is tired of gambling adverts—that much is obvious. I urge the Government to heed the report of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling reform, which will include proposals on limiting the most harmful forms of advertising, particularly as it affects young people."

The BGC, however, said policymakers should focus on the source of advertising rather than its volume, pointing to rapid growth in the black market.

“The real question is whether advertising is coming from regulated operators, who are held to strict standards, or from the harmful illegal black market, which operates entirely outside the rules,” Hurst said.

Research from global marketing intelligence firm WARC, cited by the BGC, shows illegal operators now account for nearly half of UK gambling advertising spend, with that share expected to exceed 50% within two years.

WARC said: “While ad spend within the UK’s gambling sector is set to rise to £1.9bn this year, WARC research has found that there is a two-speed market at play, with almost all growth now being driven by unlicenced firms.” 

“Most significantly, unlicensed operators are on course to account for over half of all ad spend within the gambling sector by 2028; a sign of the tectonic shift currently occurring within the market.”

Total UK gambling advertising is forecast to reach £1.9 billion ($2.56 billion) by October 2026, with licensed operators expected to reduce spending by 9.2% to £1.1 billion ($1.48 billion). In contrast, unregulated operators’ advertising spend is projected to grow by 32%.

Hurst warned that further restrictions on licensed firms could backfire. “Targeting licensed operators when their advertising spend is already falling will not reduce overall advertising; it will simply bolster the harmful illegal black market which is aggressively targeting UK customers,” she said.

“The Government must go further and faster to clamp down on the black market before it is too late,” she added.