The Bench Report

UK Gambling Reform: Tackling Addiction, Advertising, and the Black Market

• The Bench Report • Season 5 • Episode 13

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There is a pressing need for reform in UK gambling regulation, highlighting that current rules fail to protect people, particularly young men and those in deprived communities. Evidence shows that 60% of the industry’s profits come from just 5% of customers who are problem or at-risk gamblers. Harms include hundreds of suicides annually and significant costs to the public purse. Key themes include the £2 billion spent yearly on pervasive digital advertising, the push for a statutory gambling ombudsman, and the challenge of new taxes potentially driving consumers toward dangerous, unregulated black market sites.

Key Takeaways

  • Current regulation is insufficient to protect children and young people, with the proportion of youth experiencing significant harms doubling between 2023 and 2024.
  • Gambling addiction is linked to serious harms including debt, poor physical and mental health, and significant public costs estimated at £3,700 per problem gambler per year.
  • Stricter advertising limits are being pursued, as research shows 96% of young people (aged 11-24) saw gambling marketing messages in the month before one study.
  • The government has increased remote gaming duty and introduced a statutory levy, which has raised nearly £120 million since April, with 50% allocated to NHS England and equivalents for treatment.
  • There is widespread cross-party agreement on the urgent need to establish a statutory independent gambling ombudsman to handle disputes and oversight.
  • A major concern is that aggressive regulation and taxation may push users into the unregulated black market, where consumer protections like affordability checks and self-exclusion are non-existent.

Source: Gambling: Regulatory Reform
Volume 776: debated on Tuesday 2 December 2025

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Ivan:

Hello and welcome again to the Bench Report, where we discuss recent debates from the benches of the UK Parliament. A new topic every episode. You're listening to Amy and Ivan. We're jumping straight into what is, well, perhaps one of the most high-stakes debates right now. The urgent need for reform in gambling regulation.

Amy:

It is. And the government is attempting a uh a near-impossible regulatory challenge here.

Ivan:

How so?

Amy:

Well, they're trying to balance the immense social cost of fiction, the very real human harm against the industry's economic impact.

Ivan:

Oh, while worrying about driving people towards the black market.

Amy:

Exactly. That completely unprotected, unregulated black market, it's a constant threat.

Ivan:

Let's start with that human toll then. The numbers are just well, they're staggering. We're talking about 1.4 million people in Britain with a gambling problem.

Amy:

And it's not evenly spread. We see the highest rates among young men, specifically in that, you know, 25 to 34 age group.

Ivan:

And it's heavily concentrated in more deprived communities, isn't it?

Amy:

It is. And what's really critical to understand is the industry's profit structure. A key piece of data came out.

Ivan:

The 605 split.

Amy:

That's it. 60% of the entire industry's profit comes from just 5% of its customers.

Ivan:

So its success is structurally dependent on people who are addicted or at severe risk.

Amy:

Precisely. And the cost of that dependency is devastating. We have evidence suggesting hundreds of gambling-related suicides every year.

Ivan:

Which averages out to roughly one a day.

Amy:

And when you connect that to the financial cost, it becomes even clearer. Problem gambling costs the public purse an additional 3,700 pounds per person per year.

Ivan:

That's in healthcare, welfare, justice system costs.

Amy:

All of it. Every taxpayer is footing a substantial bill for the fallout.

Ivan:

And the industry is spending a huge amount to maintain this. 2 billion pounds a year on advertising.

Amy:

And 80% of that is spent online.

Ivan:

Which explains the youth exposure figures. 96% of 11 to 24 year olds saw gambling marketing messages recently. Just incredible.

Amy:

It is. And this is why critics argue the UK's um self-regulatory model has failed. If you look at our European neighbors, like Italy or Spain. Italy, Spain, they've implemented strong restrictions, even outright bans on advertising. They see it as a public health issue.

Ivan:

So what are the immediate policy demands being discussed? Two things keep coming up.

Amy:

The first is the long-delayed creation of a statutory independent gambling ombudsman.

Ivan:

Which would be a dedicated independent body to handle customer complaints outside the courts.

Amy:

And the second is about strengthening local authority licensing powers, giving counsels more say and stopping more betting shops opening up.

Ivan:

Now let's pivot to the money. The government just hit the industry with a massive tax hike.

Amy:

A huge hike. They've increased the remote gaming duty, that's the tax on online betting, from 21% up to 40%.

Ivan:

And they also brought in the new statutory levy.

Amy:

Yes, a compulsory tax on the industry, which has already raised nearly $120 million for treatment and research.

Ivan:

But this is the core conflict again. The risk that all this tax and regulation just pushes people into that unregulated black market.

Amy:

It's the industry's main argument against reform. If consumers move there, they lose all protections. No GAMSTOP, no age verification, no affordability checks at all.

Ivan:

So is the government doing anything to counter that?

Amy:

They are. They've allocated 26 million pounds to the gambling commission specifically to tackle illegal operators.

Ivan:

And what about the money from that new levy?

Amy:

Well, this is what's truly groundbreaking. 50% of it is going directly into NHS treatment pathways.

Ivan:

So it's formally being treated as a public health issue?

Amy:

For the first time, yes. Moving it out of the purely commercial space. Which leaves us with a final thought. Given that the legal industry makes 60% of its profit from its most vulnerable 5% of customers, how can that new tax revenue be used to actually break that harmful cycle of dependency?

Ivan:

As always, find us on social media at bench report UK. Get in touch with any topic important to you. Remember, politics is everyone's business. Take care.

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