The council has joined the Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA) as part of its efforts to mitigate gambling harm across the city.
Liverpool City Council has decided to join the growing alliance of councils, charities, campaign groups, and public health organisations working together to reduce the impact of gambling advertising.
This is a continuation of Liverpool’s action plan to reduce gambling harms, launched in March 2026 as a citywide approach to prevent gambling-related harm with early intervention, improved access to support and action to reduce people’s exposure to gambling.
Roughly £2bn is spent per year on advertising by the gambling industry, through a mix of print and digital promotions, as well as affiliate programmes. But, industry research suggests that this figure could be significantly higher, as digital advertising spend is difficult to measure accurately.
The choice to join this new alliance has coincided with the FIFA World Cup, which often prompts a gambling advertising and promotional activity. Because of the time difference, this world cup is primarily happening overnight (in the UK), which is the exact time that those at risk, mostly men aged 18 to 40 who participate in risky gambling) place solitary, real-time bets, research says.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has been continuously monitoring gambling adverts during this World Cup, having scanned over 13,000 marketing campaigns.
The ASA has worked alongside the regulated gambling sector in the UK – but advertising for unlicensed companies is prolific on social media platforms, creating a sense of unease within the regulated operators.
In fact, Meta has come under fire and legal scrutiny for allowing fraudulent and gambling ads on its platform. An estimated 15,000 illegal gambling ads were shown to Dutch users, for example, generating up to 75 million impressions via Facebook and Instagram.
These have earned Meta a predicted €10m per year through the ad revenue – and unlicensed, illegal operators put audiences at a significant risk of harm.
