UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Bahar Alaeddini, David Whyte and Jessica Wilson, Harris Hagan
and must take all reasonable steps to ensure that third parties (eg, affiliates) do not do so; • operators must be able to terminate contracts with third parties that breach this provision; • operators must not contact consumers with direct electronic marketing without their informed and specified consent; and • operators must provide customers with options to opt in to direct marketing on a per product and per channel basis. The following codes are also applicable: • all UK gambling advertising – the Industry Code, administered by the Betting and Gaming Council; • broadcast advertising – the BCAP Code, adminis- tered by the ASA; and • non-broadcast advertising – the CAP Code, admin- istered by the ASA. The ASA website includes a number of guidance doc- uments, including: • “Gambling advertising: protecting children and young people” (April 2019); • “Social media marketing of gambling on eSports” (April 2020); • “Gambling advertising: responsibility and problem gambling” (November 2021); • “Guidance on depiction of under-25s in lottery ads” (July 2023); • “Advertising Guidance – Age-restricted ads online” (September 2025); and • “Gambling and lotteries guidance – protecting under-18s (October 2025)”. The Gambling Commission’s web page “Advertising/ marketing rules and regulations” provides an overview covering the various LCCP and industry regulations. 9.4 Restrictions on Advertising See 9.3 Key Legal, Regulatory and Licensing Provi- sions . In addition, since 1 November 2014, gambling operators wishing to advertise in the UK must hold a Gambling Commission operating licence pertaining to the type of activity advertised. Separately, the Gam- bling Commission has made clear that advertising- only licences will not be granted.
Since August 2019, a voluntary “whistle-to-whistle” sports-betting advertising ban initiated by the UK bet- ting sector (including a ban on all TV betting adverts during pre-watershed live sport) has been effective. In relation to online search activity, from 1 October 2020, the industry introduced a list of negative key- words against which no online gambling advertising should be served. This is a voluntary measure that was introduced in the Industry Code. In 2022, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) announced the introduction of tough new rules for gambling advertisements. The new rules (effective as of 1 October 2022) comprise a strong appeal test, which prohibits advertisements that are “likely to be of strong appeal to children or young persons, espe- cially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture” – meaning that sportspeople, social media influencers and other celebrities who are prominent in youth culture are prohibited from being featured in gambling advertisements. On 14 September 2025, the CAP updated its guidance to further strengthen and clarify rules related to strong appeal. From 1 September 2025, the scope of the CAP Code was extended to apply to non-paid-for online market- ing communications (content marketing such as social media posts) aimed at UK customers by advertisers who are subject to licensing conditions imposed by a UK public authority or UK public body that require compliance with the CAP Code. The authors under- stand that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is reviewing UK football sponsorship intended to target foreign audiences. The White Paper did not materially restrict gambling advertising. However, it proposed that additional pro- tections be required relating to cross-selling, free bets and bonuses, as well as the need to strengthen safer gambling messaging. In April 2023, the Premier League made a voluntary commitment to banning advertising on the front of football shirts, commencing at the end of the 2025–26 season. Following the White Paper commitment to developing a cross-sport gambling sponsorship code, a number of major sports’ governing bodies also
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