U.S. gambling spent 8.7× more on celebrity ads than on RG

A 2025 audit by communications firm 5W found U.S. gambling operators spent an estimated $520 million on celebrity and athlete partnerships, about 8.7 times the roughly $60 million devoted to responsible gambling programs. The report estimated total marketing and advertising spending by operators at $3.9 billion for the year, with responsible gambling initiatives making up about 1.5% of that sum.

Television advertising was the largest single expense at $1.42 billion. Digital performance marketing followed at about $980 million. Earned media and public relations accounted for roughly $90 million, or 2.3% of overall marketing outlays.

The audit reviewed more than 47,000 items across a two-year window and examined 30 operators spanning sports betting, iGaming and land-based casinos. The materials reviewed included media coverage, regulatory filings, ESG disclosures and AI-generated search responses. Among 12 publicly traded operators in the sample, only four disclose responsible gambling investment as a percentage of marketing spend in annual reports.

The audit assessed regulatory engagement and found state gaming commissioners in 11 of 38 legal markets reported receiving proactive responsible gambling communications from fewer than three operators per year. An analysis of rulemaking comments in 12 states showed BetMGM/MGM Resorts proactively engaged regulators in nine states, DraftKings in eight and FanDuel in seven.

5W created a Responsible Gambling Communications Index to score operators on a 100-point scale across five dimensions: investment transparency, earned media footprint, executive visibility, regulator engagement and AI citation frequency. BetMGM led the sports betting category, followed by DraftKings and FanDuel. Lower-ranked operators included ESPN Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook and bet365. Among sweepstakes and iGaming operators, stake.us received the lowest score overall, while MGM Resorts International scored highest among land-based casino operators.

The audit tested how AI platforms reflect operators’ responsible gambling content by running 12 standardized prompts across several AI services and repeating each prompt 20 times. Operators with larger libraries of published responsible gambling content appeared more often in AI-generated responses to questions about player protection and trustworthiness. BetMGM and DraftKings appeared most frequently in those AI responses.

A separate survey included in the audit period examined public reactions to celebrity endorsements. About 70% of U.S. adults said celebrity endorsements did not change their opinion of a gambling product. Among people who gamble, 43% said celebrity partnerships helped brands stand out, 40% said they would be more likely to consider an operator featuring a celebrity, and roughly 10% said celebrity endorsements worsened their perception of a brand.

The audit stated that while celebrity deals drive awareness, operators that expand and publicize responsible gambling communications could strengthen relations with regulators, support investor assessments and increase visibility in AI-driven search results.