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Gambling advertising spend has continued to fall in the UK, led by a steep drop-off in spending on TV ads.
Gambling advertising spend from licensed UK operators has continued to fall, according to fresh analysis from the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC). The research, conducted by Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), found that gambling ads accounted for just 2.7% of the UK’s total advertising spend in 2024, down from 3% in 2023.
This comes alongside a warning from industry leaders that unregulated online ads from unregulated, illegal operators are a growing risk to consumers.

Licensed operators’ gambling ad spend is continuing to decline.
Independent analysis commissioned by the BGC shows gambling advertising was 2.7% of total UK ad spend in 2024 (down from 3% in 2023) and has been falling steadily since 2021.
Around 20% of ads are safer gambling…
— Betting and Gaming Council (@BetGameCouncil) February 2, 2026

The fall in official gambling ad spend is not a new phenomenon, with spending on a steady decline since 2021 to map out a drop of 1.7% year-on-year. The main push for this decline is a £30 million reduction in spending on TV ads.
The report includes warnings that illegal operators are increasingly using unregulated means, such as influencers, search engines and AI-generated content, to target consumers, including ones who may be at risk of gambling-related harm. Many operators explicitly promote the fact that they are ‘not on GAMSTOP’, thereby seeking to appeal to those already at risk of gambling addiction.
Advertising shifts to focus on player protection
What’s more, a major shift in the sector has been putting ad spend towards player protection, with 20% of all gambling ads in the UK now focused on safer gambling messaging. This increase has seen results in engagement, with 14% more people setting deposit limits and 22% more safer gambling tools in place during last year’s Safer Gambling Week.
“This independent analysis shows that gambling advertising by licensed operators is continuing to fall, with spend increasingly concentrated on safer gambling messaging and consumer protections,” said Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council. “Our members operate within some of the strictest advertising rules of any industry and continue to raise standards across the sector.
“By contrast, illegal operators are advertising aggressively online with no safeguards, no age checks and no consumer protections, posing a huge risk to consumers. Any serious approach to advertising must be led by evidence and focused on tackling the harmful black market.”
Featured image: Unsplash
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An Essex County accountant is facing criminal charges after authorities say he stole more than $1.6 million from a longtime client and the client’s two businesses, allegedly using some of the money for personal expenses like sports betting. New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division of Criminal Justice announced the charges on January 28.
The defendant, Michael Delia, 61, of West Orange, is charged with two counts of second-degree theft by unlawful taking, one count of second-degree money laundering, and one count of second-degree failure to turn over collected taxes, state officials said.

The defendant in this case is accused of violating his trust as the accountant and bookkeeper for two companies, lining his pockets at their expense and at the expense of the people of New Jersey. Business owners should be able to trust their hired professionals. pic.twitter.com/Mmb7DuI11D
— Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport (@NewJerseyOAG) January 28, 2026

“Our business owners should be able to trust their hired professionals to help them run their businesses responsibly and legally,” Acting Attorney General Davenport said. “The defendant in this case is accused of violating his trust as the accountant and bookkeeper for two companies, lining his pockets at their expense and at the expense of the people of New Jersey. This conduct will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“This defendant is charged with stealing from his client, laundering the stolen money, and then diverted collected taxes from and owed to the state of New Jersey,” DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton said. “Our office will continue to prosecute white collar cases like this as the serious crimes that they are.”
Essex County accountant allegedly steals to fund sports betting and other personal expenses
According to court records and statements made in court, prosecutors say that between 2016 and August 9, 2023, Delia used his role as an accountant and bookkeeper for a local business owner to steal about $1.64 million from two companies owned by that client. Authorities allege he funneled company money into personal and business bank accounts that he controlled.
A financial review found that Delia allegedly used the money for personal expenses, including paying off credit cards, sports betting, mortgage payments, and other costs. From January 2020 through July 2023, investigators say he also diverted $910,545 in collected sales taxes and other funds into his own accounts, money he was not authorized to use for himself.
Prosecutors further claim that Delia wrote company checks to himself that went beyond his agreed-upon pay, resulting in an additional $733,313 in stolen funds.
As the companies’ accountant and bookkeeper, Delia was responsible for sending sales tax payments to the New Jersey State Treasury. Authorities allege that in 2023 alone, he diverted more than $126,258 owed to the state and instead routed that money to his own business, STP Processing, which he registered in 2013.
Attorney General Davenport thanked the Division of Criminal Justice, the Division of Taxation’s Office of Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of the Inspector General for their work on the case. Delia was arrested with help from officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The case is being handled by DCJ Deputy Attorney General Conner Ouellette.
In New Jersey, second-degree charges can carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison, along with fines of up to $150,000.
As with all criminal cases, these are allegations only, and Delia is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Featured image: Essex County Department of Corrections
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Problem gambling referrals doubled in Northern Ireland last year, as well as a notable rise in women seeking support.
The news comes from Extern Problem Gambling’s Barry Grant and Claire Donegan, who briefed the All Party Group on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling on Tuesday, January 27. The organization offers online and app-based support to those struggling with problem gambling, helping more than 12,000 people across the island of Ireland.

Today the APG met to hear a briefing from Claire Donegan and Barry Grant from @ExternProbGam on the organisation’s important work and what it is doing to support people experiencing gambling-related harms. pic.twitter.com/bAFoKouGjf
— Reducing Harm Related to Gambling APG (@GamHarmAPG) January 27, 2026

Grant stated that the number of referrals in Northern Ireland has roughly doubled in the last year, with preference given to Northern Ireland referrals as there are few comparable services that offer alternatives to residents. In addition, the number of women seeking help has risen.
Grant also noted that there are more land-based gambling addictions in Northern Ireland than compared to the Republic of Ireland, explaining that it’s thought this is due to the difference land-based gambling products available between the two countries.
As just one example, Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) are available in Northern Ireland, but do not exist in the south, while Northern Ireland also has fewer alcohol and age-related restrictions on gaming machines. Extern urged the group to introduce legislation to establish an Office of Gambling Regulator to improve protection for vulnerable people.
Problem gambling in women
Donegan expanded on the situation for women, presenting a summary of Extern’s Women’s Gambling Support Network (WGSN), which includes one-to-one recovery plans, group support meetings, online services, and a 10-week module-based recovery plan. Since its introduction, 42 women have sought help from the network, a 328% increase from before its inception. She also highlighted that land-based gambling is more prevalent in older women.
When asked about how women are developing issues with problem gambling for women, Donegan explained that many use gambling as a stress response or a form of escapism from caregiving responsibilities. Some women also use casino-based products, particularly among older women, for social reasons.
Ireland’s All Party Group recently called for a gambling tax hike to raise funds to support those with issues with problem gambling and  reduce gambling-related harm.
Featured image: All Party Group on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling
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The brother duo behind the UK betting shop chain Betfred has been named the UK’s biggest taxpayer for the first time.
Brothers Fred and Peter Done, founders of bookmaker chain Betfred, have been named in the top spot of The Sunday Times Tax List, a round-up of the UK’s highest-paying taxpayers in 2025. The brothers paid £400.1 million ($547.7 million) tax over the last year, coming in ahead of various other rich names and families, including Harry Styles, aristocrats, and entrepreneurs.

But he’s right in saying the UK does have a billionaire problem.
Too many of them are leaving. We need them to stay, invest, create jobs – and pay tax.
Today’s Sunday Times names the top 100 taxpayers. https://t.co/BYxziCcXCR https://t.co/QLF357Sc2A pic.twitter.com/bzrtArOXA2
— Fraser Nelson (@FraserNelson) February 1, 2026

In total, the 100 individuals and families included on the list paid £5.758 billion ($7.88 billion) in taxes in the UK, a 15.5% increase from the year before. The Betfred brothers are in the top spot with a clearance of £68.7 million ($94 million).
The duo got their start in the world of betting with a winning wager for England to win the 1966 World Cup. They used those winnings to open the first Betfred shop, with over 1,300 shops now open in the UK in 2025.
However, Fred Done warned last year that a tax hike could see those locations forced to shut down, saying that the tax rises would be the “biggest threat” to the industry in his lifetime. This warning was followed by a steep rise in UK betting taxes, much as Done had feared.
The next entry on the Sunday Times list is Alex Gerco, a Moscow-born trader based in London who paid £331.4 million ($453.6 million) in taxes last year.
Betfred’s not just paying high taxes
As well as the Done brothers’ personal hefty tax bill, the company itself was slapped with a large bill at the end of 2025, after Betfred was found “unable to effectively identify and manage money laundering risks” related to their gaming machines and failed to “identify spend and associated financial indicators of gambling harm for customers using B3 gaming machines.”
This landed the company with a £825,000 ($1.1 million) fine.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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