Politics Home | Illegal operators now account for almost half of all UK gambling advertising spend, with that share set to become the majority within two years

Britain is now on course to reach a tipping point where illegal operators overtake licensed firms in advertising spend, fundamentally reshaping what consumers see.  

New independent analysis from WARC, the global marketing intelligence firm, reveals that unregulated firms now account for close to half of all UK gambling advertising spend, and on current trends are set to become the majority within two years. WARC is also the source of the widely cited near £2bn gambling advertising figure used in media coverage, providing a consistent and authoritative picture of the market. 

According to WARC, the total UK advertising market is forecast to reach £1.9bn by October 2026. But that figure masks what is really happening.  

Licensed operators are reducing their advertising, with spend expected to fall by 9.2 per cent this year to £1.1bn. Meanwhile, the harmful unregulated sector is expanding rapidly, with spend projected to grow by 32 per cent and exceed £1bn within two years.  

On current trends, by 2028, unregulated and illegal betting and gaming advertising is expected to account for the majority of total spend, overtaking licensed operators. This should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers across the House. Just a few years ago, licensed operators accounted for more than 80 per cent of gambling advertising spend. That share has now fallen to just over half and is projected to drop below 50 per cent within the next two years.  

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. 

Advertising is simply how operators compete for customers. The real issue is whether that competition is happening within the regulated market or being captured by the illegal black market. Within the regulated market, there are enforceable standards: age verification, safer gambling tools, self-exclusion schemes, and clear accountability. 

But the regulated sector is under increasing pressure. New tax changes, which make Britain one of the most heavily taxed betting and gaming jurisdictions in the world, and the current proposed financial risk assessment regime are adding cost and complexity. 

That pressure is set to increase further. The industry has already committed to removing betting sponsors from the front of Premier League shirts from next season, a step we support as part of raising standards. But as visible, regulated advertising reduces, demand does not disappear. It shifts into less regulated channels, where illegal operators are already growing rapidly. This is already visible in football, with only 3 of the 11 Premier League front-of-shirt betting sponsors holding a full UK Gambling Commission licence. 

That shift is happening across the advertising landscape, but it is most visible in digital channels, where unregulated operators are particularly active and enforcement is most challenging.  

WARC’s analysis shows digital channels now dominate gambling advertising, with search and online display accounting for the largest share of spend.  

Online and social media are more likely to reach under-18s than traditional broadcast media, making those protections harder to apply in practice. 

Unregulated operators are not bound by UK standards. They do not carry out the same age checks or safer gambling measures, contribute to tax, sport or research, and often operate outside the reach of UK enforcement. 

By contrast, the regulated betting and gaming sector supports 109,000 jobs, contributes £6.8bn to the UK economy and raises £4bn in tax each year. It is a significant British industry, generating growth, investment and employment across the country. 

Yet the harmful black market is becoming an increasingly visible part of the advertising landscape. 

The question is not simply whether there should be less advertising, but whether it is being driven by the regulated market or the illegal one. 

Focusing on licensed operators is the wrong approach. It will not reduce advertising and risks driving further growth in the illegal market.  

If current trends continue, Britain will soon reach a point where most gambling advertising no longer comes from within the regulated system. 

That is not a safer market. It is one where consumers are exposed to operators with no safeguards, no accountability, and no protections.  

The government must now go further and faster, building on its new black market taskforce and £26m in additional funding to the Gambling Commission to tackle it, to clamp down on illegal operators flooding advertising channels before they overwhelm the regulated market.