The House of Lords Liaison Committee has called on the UK government to impose a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising, arguing that an outright prohibition is the “most effective policy option” for reducing gambling harm.
The committee’s report, published Sept. 17, said digital advertising and other promotion had outpaced the regulatory framework. It cited “clear indications of public concern” about the volume of gambling marketing and estimated that between 1 million and 1.5 million adults in Great Britain experience problem gambling.
Casino.org reported that the recommendation marked a harder line than that of a House of Lords committee in 2020, which did not call for a blanket ban. Lord Foster of Bath said the measure would reduce participation and harm, while also shrinking the gambling sector. “This would make a positive difference to millions of people across the country,” he said.
A separate account carried in LSE’s Sharecast News round-up said the cross-party committee had accused the government of being “too passive” in responding to the growth of digital advertising and gambling promotion by social-media influencers.
The proposal would replace a system built around licensing, advertising codes and enforcement. Since September 2007, operators have been able to advertise across all media in Great Britain under the Gambling Act 2005. The Gambling Commission oversees the act and requires licensed operators to market products socially responsibly and comply with the CAP and BCAP advertising codes, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Those rules prohibit advertising that encourages socially irresponsible gambling or harm, exploits children or vulnerable people, presents gambling as an answer to financial problems, or has strong appeal to young people. Serious or repeated code breaches can be referred by the ASA to the Gambling Commission or, for broadcasters, Ofcom.
The policy debate has long turned on the evidence of advertising’s effects. A 2020 Ipsos MORI study found the relationship between gambling advertising and behaviour “complex and multifaceted”, while identifying reasonable grounds for concern. An October 2025 GambleAware paper said online marketing had saturated children and young people and increased their risk of harm. In April, a parliamentary group and peers campaigning for reform said successive governments had insufficiently addressed the growth of advertising.
But the CAP and BCAP evidence review reached a different conclusion. It said the available evidence did not justify new rules or broader media prohibitions, finding that advertising could have a potential impact but that its effect on problem gambling was relatively small. The review nevertheless acknowledged that online services and gambling advertising had expanded significantly since the 2005 act took effect.
The Betting and Gaming Council rejected the peers’ recommendation as “deeply misguided”. Its chief executive, Grainne Hurst, said advertising distinguishes licensed companies from illegal websites and argued that a blanket ban would remove a key advantage of regulation without preventing illegal operators from targeting British consumers.
The committee considered that argument but said it was unconvinced that curbs on licensed operators’ advertising would cause significant movement to the illegal market. The BGC has countered that it warned last month that the black market in Premier League betting alone could reach £1 billion a year.
The industry body has also said illegal operators use social media, search engines, messaging services and digital advertising networks to reach people in Britain, including self-excluded and vulnerable consumers. The government separately opened an eight-week consultation in July on making promotion of unlicensed gambling sponsors a criminal offence, as we reported at the time.
The BGC said it did not oppose stricter marketing standards where evidence supports them, but called instead for proportionate, evidence-led regulation. Its open letter cited WARC research suggesting illegal operators account for almost half of gambling advertising spend in Britain, and an H2GC forecast that stakes with black-market operators could rise from £17 billion to £33 billion by 2028.
