Gambling reform lobbyists in both the House of Commons and House of Lords are continuing to pile pressure on UK betting advertising.

A fresh report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform (GRAPPG) and Peers for Gambling Reform (PGR) have made a combined case about the risks of gambling brands proliferating via advertising in the UK.

The cross-party groups of policymakers are particularly focused on how children and vulnerable people can be impacted by gambling advertising. The report argues that gambling advertising reform has been ‘limited’ and the UK is risking falling behind its international counterparts.

There are some familiar names behind the report. It was penned by long-time advocate for gambling reform Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Co-Chair of the GRAPPG on Gambling Reform; Alex Ballinger MP, Co-Chair of the APPG; and Lord Foster of Bath, Chair of the PGR.

Figures vary on how much is being spent by licensed operators, ranging from £1.25bn-£2bn per-year. The report claims that this is excessive and exposes UK betting to the public on too large a scale.

It also states that, “more concerningly, the industry has frequently breached their own voluntary codes on responsible advertising”, which has allowed “children and young people to continually be exposed to sophisticated marketing that is often not recognised as advertising” through the use of social media platforms. 

Social media marketing has been a tactic notoriously prevalent among unlicensed operators too, which, in fairness, the report did not ignore.

It stated: “The growth of advertising by black and grey market operators also requires serious consideration, but not at the expense of taking action on licensed operators. 

“We noted the Government’s increasing focus on illegal gambling marketing, including comments by Baroness Twycross indicating that this is viewed as the primary risk area for children and vulnerable people in correspondence to the GRAPPG and PGR, dated 18 February 2026. 

“While illegal operators do pose clear dangers, this emphasis risks overlooking the well documented and widespread harms arising from within the regulated sector. 

“A balanced approach is essential to ensure that efforts to tackle unlicensed activity do not come at the expense of addressing the systemic issues present in the licensed market.”

Report takes aim at UK betting research … again

The latter part of the above quote is important. Whilst acknowledging the black market as a threat, the GRAPPG and PGR focus on what they claim as heavy amounts of advertising spend in the regulated sector.

In response, other industry voices have instead argued that black market prominence has been significantly increasing, which directly threatens licensed operators’ market share by deteriorating channelisation rates.

One organisation leading the dialogue on black market expansion via marketing has been the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) – the UK betting industry trade and standards body.

Just this week, the industry body released statistics that showed marketing spend from the black market would match and later surpass that of the regulated sector in the UK by late 2028.

However, the GRAPPG and PGR’s report criticises the BGC’s past findings from various reports – particularly regarding claims that tax increases would lead to an increase in migration to unlicensed operators.

“Industry-commissioned estimates of illegal-market activity are highly uncertain,” the report said. 

“By definition, the illegal sector is opaque and difficult to reliably measure, and the Gambling Commission itself has previously cautioned that claims about illegal-market growth are often exaggerated and must be kept in proportion. 

“Industry figures, including Paddy Power co-founder Stewart Kenny, have openly acknowledged that the threat of the illegal market has long been inflated to resist regulation and tax reform. Despite this, the illegal argument continues to be deployed to oppose policy change. 

“Ahead of the UK’s November Budget, for example, the BGC claimed that tax increases would drive consumers to illegal operators. These assertions relied on outdated research and ignored evidence from other jurisdictions where operators have absorbed tax rises while remaining commercially viable.”

This is not the first time that legislators have expressed a lack of confidence in industry research and reports. As the report itself noted, the same was said in the lead up to the November tax judgements last year, with one key industry argument often the subject of scrutiny…

Legislators fire back on black market

The MPs and Lords have attempted to turn the industry’s black market argument on its head, counterarguing that the excessive licensing from the regulated industry will lead to more players encountering harm and in turn self-excluding – and then being left with the only option of the black market.

“More recently, both DCMS and industry representatives have argued that maintaining a highly visible regulated sector – supported by continued advertising – will help protect against the growth of the illegal market,” the report continued.

“This claim warrants scrutiny. Expanding the reach of the legal market does not simply channel existing demand, it also stimulates new participation. 

“A larger market will inevitably produce more harmed and self-excluded individuals, some of whom may then be exposed to unlicensed operators operating outside of UK consumer protections.”

A further pile-on of the licensed sector’s perceived over-reliance on the black market argument came later in the report. 

While trying to quash the licensed industry’s defence of its advertising practices, the report also hit out at the sector by claiming that the lines between legal and illegal are ‘frequently blurred’. 

“The notion of a clear and distinct ‘illegal market’ is often a false dichotomy,” the report continued. 

“The boundaries between licensed and unlicensed operators are frequently blurred: licensed companies operate in grey or illegal markets overseas; some unlicensed operators are subsidiaries of licensed firms; and licensed technology providers supply software to unlicensed operators. 

“This further makes the case for the need of robust, enforceable regulation across the entire gambling ecosystem.”

The report’s publication comes amid the DCMS’ anti-illegal gambling taskforce, led by Baroness Tycross, taking a closer look at how unlicensed companies promote themselves in the UK. It also comes ahead of the Premier League’s voluntary ban on front-of-shirt betting sponsors.

However, the combined assault on UK betting ads from both Lords and MPs shows, clear as ever, that many proponents of gambling reform are deeply unsatisfied with the 2023 conclusions of the Gambling Act review – and that UK betting advertising will continue to be a political issue throughout 2026.

Summarising the legislators’ viewpoint, Duncan Smith said: “Our daily lives are now totally saturated with gambling advertising. 

“It is simply everywhere you look, online, on billboards, all over sporting events.

“Enough is enough, for too long the gambling industry has got away with advertising where they like, when they like, and failing to adhere to regulation or codes of conduct.”

While arguments on both sides hold merit, it seems the UK is no closer to being in agreement on how to competently regulate gambling advertising in a manner which is both fair licensed operators and takes public concerns, like those of the Football Supporters Association (FSA), into account.

The issue is set to continue to be a centrepiece in UK discourse today, with a Westminster debate around gambling advertising taking place at 1:30pm today.