21 September 2026
The House of Lords Liaison Committee has called for a sweeping ban on gambling advertising, framing the move as a public-health imperative and the most effective policy to limit gambling-related harm.
A Comprehensive Advertising Ban
The committee recommended an across-the-board ban on gambling advertising in Great Britain, including direct marketing, bonuses and inducements, influencer and content marketing, and sponsorship of sports events.
“We are now recommending a blanket prohibition on gambling advertising to address this public health crisis,” Lord Steinberg, chair of the committee, said of the findings.
Citing the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, the report estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million adults in the UK score high enough on the Problem Gambling Severity Index to qualify as problem gamblers.
Other media banned under the proposal include broadcast ads; some online marketing, including paid-for targeting; and poster campaigns.
The report does carve out exemptions, allowing for continued on-course advertising at horse and greyhound racing venues, plus targeted marketing for the national lottery.
“It is clear from the evidence that the Gambling Commission would be a more appropriate body rather than the ASA to hold the advertising regime on a statutory footing,” the report stated.
A Public Health Crisis
In framing the move as a public-health priority, the committee drew a direct parallel to tobacco advertising.
“The threat of gambling harm demands a similarly robust response,” the report said.
Some advocates have warned that too much restriction could drive gamblers to unregulated, black-market operators.
The panel, however, said the UK must take decisive action, with Lord Steinberg citing the country’s “national epidemic of gambling-related harm.”
“There is no credibility in gambling companies' claims that advertising does not work, and it is clear that exposure to gambling advertising increases gambling participation and harms,” the report stated.
The sector’s defenders, meanwhile, have long contended that much of the existing harm stems from online operators based overseas that still slip past existing laws.
A Tougher, Regulatory Approach
The report also calls for the Gambling Commission to take over from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in overseeing the new advertising scheme. The delegated regulations would provide statutory teeth, and the Gambling Commission would set the size and visibility of any permitted ads through its codes.
More on this is available via guide to safer casino sites.
That represents a significant shift in the industry, which to some extent self-regulated until the Gambling Act came into effect in 2005. The ASA polices industry members through an established co-regulatory system.
The Lords’ report warns that sports sponsorship is equivalent to “indirect advertising,” which the Gambling Commission would have the authority to regulate under the proposal.
It also means affiliates, influencers, and media companies could no longer market gambling products, which has become a common way for aggregators and operators to get the messaging out to the most pliable customers.
“Banning ads also inevitably hits online casino marketing for brands that advertise,” said CasinoSingleton, an industry expert who did not want to give his real name for fear of upsetting industry contacts.
Not Law, But Urgently Awaited
The government has acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, but there is no indication the recommendations will become law in their current form.
Some reporting indicates ministers have no plans to legislate, but that hasn’t stopped the industry examining the recommendations for any hints of what’s to come down the line.
In 2020, another Lords inquiry also targeted advertising as a problem, though that report was somewhat broader, investigating issues like loot boxes, faults in the betting regulation and enforcement system, and the “whac-a-mole” challenge with offshore operators.
Some prominent anti-gambling groups called the latest report a disappointment, adding they were looking for a total ban, including the misleading depiction of the games and that the committee still allowed for what they called “disguised” advertising, like merely mentioning a brand or a bonus.
The government response will make or break the recommendations, but they seem unlikely to fade away. With the UK in a political buffer zone before an election, a lack of momentum will mean it again falls off the radar as it did in 2020. No party platform or policy paper has committed to inserting the recommendations into statutory law.
Analysts say lawmakers will still check in, as they did following the deaths of young very-high-stakes gamblers. If anything brews at that level, reforms will get the second wind needed.
And by then, the industry will be moving in that direction already.
“This is probably not what will end up in the laws,” said CasinoSingleton. “But when those laws finally land, a third of this will be in there. Maybe half.”
