Liverpool City Council has joined the Coalition to End Gambling Ads (CEGA), adding its support to a nationwide campaign seeking stronger restrictions on the promotion and sponsorship of gambling products.
The decision forms part of Liverpool’s broader public health response to gambling-related harm. Earlier this year, the council introduced a Reducing Gambling Harms Action Plan, focused on prevention, earlier intervention and making treatment and support easier for residents to access.
Council estimates indicate that approximately one in six young adults in Liverpool experience some form of gambling-related harm. Men and residents facing financial disadvantage are considered particularly vulnerable.
The local authority warned that harmful gambling can contribute to debt, deteriorating mental health, family and relationship problems, homelessness and involvement with the criminal justice system.
By joining CEGA, Liverpool intends to challenge the growing normalisation of gambling through advertising on television, social media, sports broadcasts and in public spaces. The council said the UK gambling sector spends close to £2bn annually on marketing, leaving children, young people and people recovering from addiction repeatedly exposed to promotional messages.
Councillor Harry Doyle, Liverpool’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, said gambling harm creates serious consequences for individuals, families and wider communities. He described CEGA membership as another element of the city’s commitment to preventing harm and creating healthier environments.
Liverpool has already worked with gambling-harm organisation Chapter One on public awareness campaigns timed around major sporting competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, when betting promotions typically become more prominent.
Its action plan brings together organisations working in health, education, social care, criminal justice and the voluntary sector. Alongside improving treatment pathways, the initiative seeks to raise awareness and reduce the stigma that can discourage people from asking for help.
Liverpool now joins a growing group of local authorities supporting CEGA. Its membership includes councils representing Brent, Haringey, Islington, Hackney, Devon, Blackpool, Bristol, Southampton, Lewisham, Enfield and Barnsley, among others.
CEGA was established in 2021 as the Coalition Against Gambling Ads before adopting its present name in 2024. The organisation is pressing the UK government to introduce broad restrictions on gambling advertising, promotion and sponsorship, arguing that existing rules do not adequately protect children or people affected by addiction.
The coalition maintains that advertising can encourage people to begin gambling, increase spending among existing customers and place those in recovery at greater risk of relapse. It cites Gambling Commission research showing that more than a third of people who had gambled during the previous 12 months reported being prompted to spend money by advertising.
CEGA Director Will Prochaska said councils witness the effects of gambling harm directly through pressure on families, public services and local economies. However, the authority to impose meaningful nationwide advertising restrictions remains with the central government.
Beyond campaigning against advertising by licensed operators, CEGA has also investigated marketing by unlicensed gambling websites targeting British consumers. The coalition argues that Liverpool’s membership will provide the city with another platform from which to press Westminster for wider reforms.