The UK should restrict gambling advertising in line with other European countries, according to a new report from GambleAware. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Calls for regulation

According to a report commissioned by the GambleAware charity, the UK’s gambling advertising regulations are too lenient compared to those of peer countries.

over £1.5bn ($1.9bn) is spent on marketing by operators in the UK each year

Compared to many other European countries such as Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands, the UK has far fewer restrictions on when and where gambling can be advertised. The report noted that betting adverts “continue to bombard the public” – over £1.5bn ($1.9bn) is spent on marketing by operators in the UK each year.

In the report, GambleAware called for a pre-9pm watershed ban on all broadcast advertising and a complete blanket ban across sports. The charity also called for mandatory health warnings, as well as increasing restrictions on online advertising.

Abundant evidence

A key criticism of the report was the failure of the UK to introduce new restrictions on gambling ads despite the wealth of data and research that has been produced in the country.

The report noted that the UK had “almost 500 research papers in the last decade from British universities including specialist gambling units at academic institutions such as Bristol, Bournemouth, and Glasgow – more research than Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium combined.” 

“There is strong evidence to show that gambling advertising increases participation, and therefore risk.”

the UK relies mostly on co-operation and self-regulation from betting operators

In contrast to many European countries, including those such as Belgium and Italy which have banned all gambling advertising outright, the UK relies mostly on cooperation and self-regulation from betting operators rather than strict regulation.

Slow progress

There has been increasing pressure in UK politics for gambling reform despite recent governments’ lack of legislation.

Following the victory, chancellor Rachel Reeves also surprised analysts by not increasing gambling taxes in her first budget, despite being widely anticipated to do so.

The previous Conservative Party administration produced a policy paper outlining several guidelines for reform, including restrictions on advertising, but this was controversially shelved when the incumbent Labour Party took power in the 2024 election.

we remain woefully behind the curve in terms of the regulation needed to protect individuals”

Peers for Gambling Reform, a group in the UK’s House of Lords, have called for the policy paper to be resurrected and welcomed the report’s recommendations. Group chair Lord Foster of Bath said: “There is huge public support to curb it and there’s a wealth of research showing the harm it causes. But we remain woefully behind the curve in terms of the regulation needed to protect individuals from harm.”

“Crucially, the power to regulate key aspects of this – such as gambling advertising – is already within the gift of the secretary of state as set out in the Gambling Act 2005. Our current regulations are too lenient, and fail to advance the much-needed public health approach to gambling that Peers for Gambling Reform has long called for.”