The consultation directly addresses regulatory controls on gambling operator advertising and sponsorship arrangements, with explicit focus on protecting consumers and market integrity through licensing requirements.
The update emphasizes sports sponsorship arrangements and advertising restrictions in the sporting sector, making sports betting a relevant secondary consideration.
Topic
The consultation proposes banning unlicensed gambling operators from sponsorship and advertising arrangements, which directly restricts how gambling is promoted and marketed.
The proposed ban aims to protect consumers from unregulated platforms and eliminate money laundering vulnerabilities, addressing both player protection and AML concerns.
2026-07-16 08:47:13·gkaliraman@vixio.com
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A consultation on banning gambling operators which are not licensed by the Gambling Commission from entering into sponsorship or advertising arrangements across all sectors, including sports.
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TITLE: United Kingdom Government Launches Consultation on Banning Unlicensed Gambling Sponsorship
BODY:
On July 15, 2026, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) opened a consultation on banning gambling operators not licensed by the Gambling Commission from entering into sponsorship or advertising arrangements across all sectors, including sports.
Under current legislation, businesses can enter into advertising and sponsorship arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators provided those operators' services cannot be accessed by consumers in Great Britain. Unlicensed operators prevent access through geo-blocking their websites; however, consumers can circumvent this using virtual private networks (VPNs). This has become particularly prevalent in the sporting sector, notably football, following recent changes in the advertising landscape.
The DCMS identified three core objectives driving the proposed legislative changes. First, protecting consumers—especially young people and vulnerable individuals—from unregulated platforms that may lack adequate player protections or fraud recourse. Second, defending the integrity of the domestic market by ensuring advertising footprints are exclusive to operators required to adhere to the Gambling Commission's Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). Third, eliminating money laundering vulnerabilities within football clubs and agents flagged in the National Risk Assessment.
The current legislation undermines the gambling licensing and advertising regulatory frameworks designed to protect consumers in Great Britain and reduce money-laundering and crime risks. The proposed ban would apply to unlicensed gambling sponsorships and advertising across all sectors in Great Britain.
The consultation closes at 11:59pm on September 9, 2026. Responses can be submitted online or emailed to gamblingactreview@dcms.gov.uk.
Consultation on banning unlicensed gambling sponsorship - GOV.UK Cookies on GOV.UK We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. You have accepted additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time. You have rejected additional cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies Hide cookie message Skip to main content Open consultation Consultation on banning unlicensed gambling sponsorship From: Department for Culture, Media and Sport Published: 15 July 2026 Get emails about this page Summary A consultation on banning gambling operators which are not licensed by the Gambling Commission from entering into sponsorship or advertising arrangements across all sectors, including sports. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 9 September 2026 Consultation description Under current legislation, businesses are able to enter into advertising and sponsorship arrangements with gambling operators which are not licensed by the Gambling Commission, so long as those operators’ services cannot be accessed by consumers in Great Britain. Unlicensed operators prevent access to their services by geo-blocking their websites. However, this can be circumvented by consumers using a virtual private network (VPN). This has become a particular issue over the past year in the sporting sector, particularly football, as the result of changes in the advertising landscape. We want to change this. The current legislation undermines the gambling licensing and advertising regulatory frameworks, which aim to protect consumers in Great Britain and reduce the risk of money-laundering and crime. Specifically, our rationale for change is driven by three core objectives: to protect consumers, especially young people and those who are vulnerable, from unregulated platforms that may not offer adequate player protections or fraud recourse; to defend the integrity of our domestic market by ensuring advertising footprints are exclusive to operators who are required to adhere to the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP); and in the sport sector, to eliminate money laundering vulnerabilities within football clubs and agents that have been flagged within our National Risk Assessment. We are therefore consulting on legislative changes to ban unlicensed gambling sponsorships and advertising in Great Britain across all sectors, including sport. Documents Consultation on banning unlicensed gambling sponsorship HTML Ways to respond Respond online or Email to: gamblingactreview@dcms.gov.uk Share this page The following links open in a new tab Share on Facebook (opens in new tab) Share on Twitter (opens in new tab) Updates to this page Published 15 July 2026 Sign up for emails or print this page Get emails about this page Print this page Is this page useful? Maybe Yes this page is useful No this page is not useful Thank you for your feedback Report a problem with this page Help us improve GOV.UK Do not include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. This field is for robots only. Please leave blank What were you doing? What went wrong? Send Cancel Help us improve GOV.UK To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. Please fill in this survey (opens in a new tab ) . Cancel