Gambling Industry Spent 8.7x More on Celebrity Deals Than Responsible Gambling Programs in 2025, Audit Finds

The U.S. gambling industry spent nearly nine times more on celebrity and athlete endorsement deals in 2025 than it invested in responsible gambling communications, according to a new audit from communications firm 5W that’s drawing fresh scrutiny from ESG analysts tracking the sector. The 5W Responsible Gambling Communications Audit 2026, released July 3, found operators spent roughly $520 million on celebrity partnerships last year compared to about $60 million on responsible gambling programs and messaging, an 8.7-to-1 ratio the report says outpaces the marketing-to-safety gap seen in other regulated industries like alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals.

The audit examined the industry’s full $3.9 billion marketing spend for 2025, breaking down where the money actually went. Television advertising claimed the largest share at $1.42 billion, or 36% of the total, followed by $980 million in digital performance marketing. Celebrity and athlete partnerships came in third at $520 million, ahead of sports sponsorships ($410 million), paid social ($280 million), and out-of-home advertising ($140 million). Earned media and PR trailed at just $90 million, with responsible gambling programs receiving the smallest allocation of all at $60 million, a combined 3.8% of total spend for the two categories analysts say matter most for long-term brand trust.

Who Came Out Ahead, and Who Didn’t

5W’s research also scored individual operators on a 100-point responsible gambling communications index, and the spread between the top and bottom performers was substantial. MGM Resorts International topped the rankings at 81, followed by BetMGM Sportsbook at 78, BetMGM Casino at 74, DraftKings at 71, and FanDuel at 66. At the other end, Las Vegas Sands scored 41, ESPN Bet (now theScore Bet) came in at 38, Fanatics Sportsbook scored 34, bet365 posted a 29, and Stake.us landed at just 22, the lowest mark in the study.

The report’s authors framed the gap not just as an ethical concern but as a business risk. ESG analysts covering publicly traded operators including Flutter Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment have reportedly begun tracking responsible gambling investment as a share of total marketing spend in their published research, meaning the 8.7-to-1 ratio is becoming a reference point in conversations regulators and institutional investors are having about the industry’s long-term sustainability.

Why the Numbers Matter Beyond Optics

The audit’s authors argue the fix doesn’t require a dramatic overhaul of marketing budgets. Shifting just three to five percentage points of the industry’s total marketing spend toward earned media, executive visibility, responsible gambling communications, and digital content infrastructure would redirect somewhere between $120 million and $200 million industry-wide, a figure the report notes wouldn’t move the needle on any operator’s quarterly earnings call but could meaningfully change how the sector is perceived by regulators and the public.

The findings land at a sensitive moment for the industry, with active legalization fights continuing in states like California, Texas, and Florida, and prediction market platforms adding new complexity to how sports wagering products are marketed and regulated nationwide. Players looking for resources on healthy gambling habits or seeking to find help can visit the National Council on Problem Gambling at ncpgambling.org or call 1-800-GAMBLER. As institutional investors increasingly factor these figures into their coverage, the spending gap the 5W audit documented could become a bigger story than any single celebrity endorsement deal it highlights.