BGC Study on Gaming Ads Suggests Marketing Expenditure Has Declined

Britain’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has published the results of a new study into the local gambling sector. The findings suggest that the UK’s gambling marketing is on the decline due to regulatory difficulties, leaving the licensed gaming sector exposed to pressures from the black market.   

Operators Spent Less on Marketing

The Gambling Advertising and Sponsorship Report 2025, produced by Alvarez and Marsal on behalf of the BGC, shows that the money legal operators have been spending on marketing has been steadily declining. For comparison, gaming market expenses constituted 3% of all marketing expenses in the UK in 2023, but only 2.7% in 2024.

In total, regulated companies spent GBP 1.15 billion on ads in the period from October 2023 to September 2024, most of which (GBP 768 million) fueled ads across the digital space. The remainder went toward broadcast ads, with TV ads comprising three-thirds of this spend. Despite the prevalence of TV ads, the report shows that they have experienced the most rapid decline, leading to a drop in gaming marketing expenses.  

Gambling advertising expenditure (excluding perimeter advertising) has reduced by a combined annual growth rate of -1.7%, the report added.

In addition to that, operators spent GBP 138 million on gaming sponsorships.

Overall, gaming ads and sponsorships supported approximately 9,900 jobs and contributed roughly GBP 506 million in indirect gross value to the economy.

The Black Market Remains an Active Threat

The report suggested that the decrease in marketing spend is due to cost cuts associated with new safer gaming messenger requirements and protections. The study says that approximately 20% of all gaming ads are currently focused on safer gaming messaging, as required by the UK’s regulations.

Black market operators, on the other hand, have had to deal with no such requirements since they operate outside the scope of UK regulations. As a result, unlicensed companies have continued to aggressively promote their products, with no regard for age requirements or safer gambling.

A recent statement by Tim Miller of the UKGC suggested that many offshore platforms go a step further and actively promote themselves as platforms that do not abide by the UK’s self-exclusion requirements.

BGC Wary of a Potential Ad Ban

The silver lining of the Gambling Advertising and Sponsorship Report 2025 is that the recent Safer Gaming Week initiatives have proven that the mandated safer gaming requirements do indeed encourage many players to use the safer gaming tools available to them.

At the same time, prohibitionists have been calling for a ban on gambling ads – a measure that the BGC and other industry representatives have firmly rejected, saying that it will cripple the legal industry and strengthen the offshore market.