BGC Calls on MPs to Consider the Impact on Advertising Before Criticizing Promotions

(AsiaGameHub) –   In advance of this week’s Westminster debate on gambling advertising, Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive Officer of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), has called on MPs to proceed carefully.

The debate, scheduled for this Thursday, was arranged by the Backbench Business Committee and was proposed by Alex Ballinger and Dr Beccy Cooper, the MPs for Halesowen and Worthing West, respectively.

Significantly, both Ballinger and Cooper are advocates for gambling reform. They have been especially outspoken on the issue of gambling advertising and have consistently engaged in discussions promoting stricter marketing controls.

During a debate on gambling reforms last December, Cooper stated: “We need regulatory and legislative tools to tackle industry marketing practices, and we must make sure that children are protected from the proliferation of gambling ads, sponsorship and influencer marketing.

“We have heard about the last Government’s White Paper, which does not give us the right road map to address this public health crisis…and it fails to address advertising, sponsorship and the modern marketing of gambling.

“We must look to review the White Paper and set a timeline for a new gambling Act.”

Following this, Ballinger contributed to a January debate on gambling harm and youth protection, emphasising that social media presents the most significant risk of exposing minors to advertising and calling for greater government oversight of marketing.

“There is a real problem in the self-regulation of content marketing,” he said. “The Advertising Standards Authority has a Committee of Advertising Practice code of practice that requires gambling marketing communications to be clearly identifiable as such, but again and again, we are not seeing that followed.

“The evidence is clear. The public is tired of gambling adverts—that much is obvious. I urge the Government to heed the report of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling reform, which will include proposals on limiting the most harmful forms of advertising, particularly as it affects young people.”

However, as in any political debate, there are opposing views. In an opinion piece for PoliticsHome, Hurst advocated for a balanced strategy that acknowledges the responsibilities of the licensed sector and the major threat it confronts in the UK – the black market.

To support her argument, the BGC CEO referenced research from the global marketing intelligence agency WARC, which revealed alarming findings about the growing presence of illegal operators.

Marketing spending by legal operators is forecast to fall by 9.2% in 2026 to £1.1bn. Conversely, the firm anticipates advertising expenditure from unregulated providers will increase by 32% over the next two years – exceeding the £1bn threshold by 2028.

Since many licensed UK operators are currently reducing their gambling expenditure due to the Remote Gaming Duty tax rising from 21% to 40%, it can be inferred that the share of licensed advertising will continue to decline, while the illegal market’s share grows.

This aligns with WARC’s conclusion, which indicates regulated operators are projected to represent less than half of all advertising spend by October 2028.

“The direction of travel is clear: regulated firms are scaling back their advertising, while the harmful black market grows rapidly. That should give policymakers pause,” Hurst added.

Faced with this potential future, the UK government has the sensitive job of continually balancing player protection with the risks of overregulation, a process that continues with the upcoming advertising debate on Thursday.