The Betting and Gaming Council urged Meta and Google to treat illegal gambling advertising as a consumer-protection issue in Britain. The council warned that black-market operators could overtake licensed gambling in advertising presence by 2028, while illegal betting at Royal Ascot 2026 could reach £40m.
Operators face greater competition from unlicensed gambling promoted through mainstream digital platforms.
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The Gambling Commission published estimates of engagement with illegal gambling websites in Great Britain on 5 November 2026, drawing on its Gambling Survey for Great Britain. It reported that 0.6% of respondents had used such sites in the previous four weeks; among people who had gambled online in the past year, the figure was 2.5%. An updated dashboard will track engagement and the impact of disruption work.
The Gambling Commission released fresh estimates on 5 November about how far consumers engage with illegal gambling websites. The figures are drawn from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, and an updated Illegal Gambling Data Dashboard accompanied them. The dashboard is meant to follow engagement trends and the effect of disruption work.
Reportedly, Researchers have called for Britain to prohibit all gambling advertising. They want the proposed prohibition on sponsorship by unlicensed gambling businesses extended across every advertising channel.
The Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP) consortium has called on the British government to extend proposed restrictions on sports sponsorship by unlicensed gambling businesses to licensed operators and to all gambling advertising channels. The group made the call in its response to a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) consultation on prohibiting sponsorship by unlicensed gambling firms, which closed on 9 September. The government has not announced its conclusions, according to the source.
Reportedly, the Betting and Gaming Council supported a DCMS consultation on prohibiting sponsorship and advertising involving illegal gambling operators. It also endorsed Entain’s call for the government to take immediate action to protect consumers.
Betting and Gaming Council chief executive Grainne Hurst told a House of Lords committee that illegal and unlicensed operators account for an estimated £800m to £900m of the UK’s £1.9bn annual gambling advertising spend, citing WARC data. The BGC said that, if the trend continues, those operators could overtake licensed operators’ advertising spend within two years.
The Betting and Gaming Council said unregulated operators account for nearly 50% of UK gambling advertising spend, citing WARC analysis, and could hold a majority share within two years. H2 Gambling Capital estimates illegal UK gambling could exceed £33bn in 2028, up from £17bn expected this year; the BGC also warned that advertising restrictions on licensed operators could affect the balance.