Level 2, ‘The Fort’, HardRocks Business Park, Burmarrad Road, Naxxar, NXR 6345
Crypto Casino is an independent platform providing unbiased information about online crypto casinos, games, and bonuses. We are not owned or operated by any gambling provider. All reviews, rankings, and guides are written by our expert team based on honest analysis and the latest available data.
Copyright©Crypto.Casino Ltd. 2026. All Rights Reserved
The iGaming industry has increased its marketing efforts on all fronts, and regulators have concerns about public risk and health. 2026 could be year where operators and the gambling industry need to adapt
Jan 8, 2026
You’re at Wembley stadium watching the Carabao Cup, Liverpool and Chelsea battling for control, 1-1, second half, clock at 39 minutes. Out of the corner of your eye, you see an advertisement for a 50% deposit bonus on Stake.com, and so do the other 90,000 spectators.
The iGaming industry has entrenched itself firmly in the public eye through venues, and relentlessly across the internet. Competition is fierce, as online casinos use influencer collaborations, affiliate marketing, SEO, paid advertising, and other marketing channels to increase visibility and brand awareness. The saturation of iGaming has created a global industry that is estimated to be worth 78.66 billion USD, and with that number predicted to only go up.
With rapid growth has come rapid reactions and response from governments and authorities. Potential public risk and health concerns have been at the center of debate for as long as iGaming has been available. As the UK moves towards tighter restraints and EU nations setting their own approaches, casino operators are fighting to stand out amongst each other and capture new players.
The broader gambling industry as a whole (including casinos, sportsbooks, and other gaming outlets) has only invested more into marketing over the years. The UK alone has seen spending roughly around 2 billion Pounds.
Combining estimated 18.5 billion in EUD gaming revenue across the 27 EU countries based on data from the European Gaming and Betting Association, with paid acquisition and brand marketing making up anywhere from 12 to 20% of operators’ spending, casinos have spent anywhere from 2.2 to 3.7 billion EUD in 2025.
Note - These numbers are strictly estimates. Firms, operators, and other entities are slow to produce concrete numbers, but the massive estimate alone indicates the type of investment marketing represents.
Internet marketing has proliferated as a key channel despite regulations, while TV has dropped to zero usage across the board.
In addition to traditional internet and television advertising, operators are using multiple other channels to reach potential players.
Influencer marketing alone is already a multibillion dollar industry and is fairly new in the arsenal of tactics online casinos employ. Celebrities, streamers, and internet personalities offer visibility in the form of their built in viewership.
The difference maker from traditional marketing tactics lies in the parasocial relationship influencers curate with their audience, driving more personalized experience, engagement over traditional internet marketing. Most of these figures already have specific niches and appeals with their viewers, lending credibility to collaborating casinos.
What does Influencer marketing lead to?
More Credibility
Stronger Conversion Rates
Measurable ROI
Despite losing usage by 10% from 2023, they remained the primary marketing channel for iGaming in 2025, according to a report published by SoftSwiss Gaming.
The partnerships between sports teams and operators have become another key facet for marketing.
The US has seen sportsbooks partner with major leagues and stadiums across the board. Funny to think NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’ stance on sports betting in the league was clear back in 2012: Not now. Not ever.
Oh how the times have changed.
Today Fanduel and Draftkings make their presence known across football stadiums and national television. Online casinos have had less reach due to the state by state legality.
In the EU, casinos and sportsbooks alike market themselves often and widely within the sportsworld, particularly football. The reason is obvious—football is far and away the most popular sport in the world with a global audience. Platforms such as Stake and Betway are giving millions to leagues, clubs, and teams to have their brands put front and center. Betway proudly displays its portfolio of partnerships, including Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea FC.
European basketball has also become a target, with EuroLeague partnering with OlyBet in 2023.
Influencer and sports partnerships have only exacerbated the debate of how marketing could embroil the public in safety and health concerns. The debate in the US is apparent, but mainly revolves around access to sportsbetting. The availability of online casinos in Europe has made implications and contentions much more complex.
Despite being unable to provide empirical evidence that marketing furthers problem gambling, the UK’s House of Lords Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry observed a few concerns about the gaming industry at large
Problem gamblers contribute a significant amount of revenue
At least 10% or more of revenue is spent on marketing
Problem gamblers tend to be more affected by advertisements on social media than non-problem gamblers.
Based on a 2025 survey from the UKGC, 62% of 11 to 17 year olds had experience with some form of gambling, and 30% admitting they had “active gambling involvement” in the past year. While online gambling made up 8% of activity, 3% of players used online casinos, regulated or not.
The survey also revealed that almost 80% of young people had exposure to gambling related content at least once. Notably, 31% of participants said that influencers they followed advertised gambling content to them at least once over the past 12 months.
The EU doesn’t have any singular source of data to illustrate relationships between marketing and potential issues and risk. However, a meta analysis published by Science Direct in 2024 showed that problematic gambling is the most prevalent among those who participate in online casinos, making problem gamblers roughly 16 percent of total online players.
Other studies from Finland, Spain, and Norway found that there was evidence revealing exposure to gambling related ads posed increased harm and potential for problem gamblers.
The data on young people is broad, but it has also raised concerns. The ESPAD 2024 survey found that 23% of students aged 15-16 participated in some form of gambling over 12 months, and online made up 65% of their activity.
The evidence of exposure through marketing is there too, even if it is still unorganized.
A Danish survey from 2021 found that 43% of people aged 12 through 16 saw gambling ads at least once a day, and 35% saw them more than once.
A survey from Sweden found that social media wasn’t effectively blocking off minors from viewing almost half of all online casino advertisements.
That’s really the big question; whether an increase in marketing increases risks associated with gambling or not.
Most signs point to yes, repeat exposure tends to lead to more gambling from current players and create new ones. But no one can point to a definitive answer without a massive study and a lot of data across countries and demographics.
Maybe it is just a matter of accessibility instead of visibility. Stakeholders have different ideas on what matters and how causes lead to effects. Despite irresponsible gambling coupled with excessive marketing being such an overarching potential for public health, it seems that policymakers are still trying to find concrete data to guide their approach and implementation of regulations. It doesn't help that, for the EU at least, data and current policy is in a disparate and patchwork state, while the UK is figuring out its own approach.
Even the policies made and enacted in recent years are rapid responses to an industry that is quickly evolving and growing. Legislation has been trying to keep up.
In 2023 the UK pushed sweeping reform through the Gambling Act reform White Paper, meant to update policy for the internet age. Casting a wide regulatory net, put advertising regulation and monitoring under the Advertising Standards Authority and Committee of Advertising Practice to ensure content was carried out in a socially responsible manner while also mitigating exposure to minors.
This also came with the incorporation of the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Advertising (IGRG Code), setting standards for content and mandating inclusion of safe gambling messages. It also introduced restrictions on direct marketing, letting players opt in or out, which came into effect May of 2025. Bonus offers from online casinos became limited in requirements to reduce excessive play time and spending, recognizing the temptation it would offer to problem and at risk gamblers. However this policy isn’t taking effect until January 16th, later this month. Before the reform was even passed, the UK implemented a ban on gambling advertisements on live sporting events shown before 9PM. This may be why the Premier League has independently decided to remove casino and gambling sponsors from the front of jerseys after the 2026 season. The UKGC did warn the league about promoting sites without proper eligibility (mainly age) in early 2025, another potential factor.
The EU is a mix of overarching regulation and country independence.
The Digital Service Act came into effect in 2023 and signals a push towards casinos being transparent about marketing and advertising with an outright ban on targeting advertising towards minors. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive from 2018 helps coordinate push as it puts broader media limitations to also protect minors.
Notably, Influencer marketing has reigned in, especially due in part to online casinos, because of lines blurring between entertainment and promotion. At the base level, the European Commission provides guidance for compliance with consumer protections through the Influencer Legal Hub. In practice, this amounts to influencers disclosing if they are promoting services or goods.
This is also where countries in the Union begin to differ from each other. Netherlands prohibits gambling platforms from using “role models” in promotion, essentially preventing an entire marketing channel from being used. This has also led to the banning of sports sponsorships mingling with the gaming market as a whole.
Broadly banning “untargeted” advertising, Netherlands isn’t the only country piling on limits.
Belgium requires special authorization with clear limitations on exposure to audiences, and Germany has specific timeframes for when gambling can be marketed on television and, yes, the internet. Spain has developed an entire framework around conducting any kind of gambling related marketing.
On the other end, countries like Sweden and Denmark only offer guidance or more lenient policies regarding how marketing is used or targeted.
The debate has grown from “Does marketing work?” to “how does marketing work, and how do we regulate the channels and mechanics used?”
The UK and EU's previous moves are indicating that operators are going to have to deal with current changes and, likely, more regulations in coming years. 2026 has started with talks about the actual impact of marketing iGaming and gambling as a whole, and where current legislation is lacking. The UK will probably continue to build on its reform while the EU will actively pursue violations of the Digital Service Act. Where each country goes with its own policies will vary, but it’s easy to see that it will be across the board increase in regulation, not decrease.
Operators will have to address these challenges or risk losing business, and in unique ways to remain compliant with their jurisdictions own policies. A new year has brought about a new landscape in iGaming, one that might require more than just safe gambling messages to navigate.
