TLDR
- U.S. gambling companies spent $520 million on celebrity and athlete partnerships in 2025, compared to just $60 million on responsible gambling programs.
- Total marketing spend across the industry reached $3.9 billion, with responsible gambling communications making up only 1.5% of that.
- Only 4 of 12 publicly traded gambling operators disclose responsible gambling spending as a percentage of their marketing budgets.
- BetMGM ranked first across sports betting, iGaming, and land-based casino categories for responsible gambling communication.
- AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini cite companies with more responsible gambling content more often when answering questions about player safety.
A new audit from communications firm 5W found that U.S. gambling operators spent far more on celebrity endorsements than on responsible gambling efforts in 2025. The report puts celebrity and athlete partnership spending at $520 million, roughly 8.7 times the $60 million spent on responsible gambling programs.
The firm reviewed 30 operators across sports betting, iGaming, and land-based casinos. It analyzed over 47,000 media articles, regulatory filings, and disclosures.
Total marketing spend across the industry hit $3.9 billion for the year. Responsible gambling communications made up just 1.5% of that figure.
Where the Marketing Money Goes
Television advertising was the biggest expense, at $1.42 billion. That is more than a third of total spending.
Digital advertising came next at $980 million. Celebrity and athlete deals followed at $520 million.
Earned media and public relations received the smallest share, at $90 million, or 2.3% of the total.
The report also found a disclosure gap. Of 12 publicly traded operators reviewed, only 4 break out responsible gambling spending as a share of their marketing budgets. The rest report only dollar totals or skip the breakdown entirely.
Regulator contact was limited too. In 11 of 38 legal betting markets, state officials said they hear from fewer than three operators a year about responsible gambling.
Company Rankings and AI Search Results
Among individual companies, BetMGM and MGM Resorts proactively contacted regulators in 9 states during the study period. DraftKings reached out in 8 states, while FanDuel engaged in 7.
5W scored operators on a 100-point index covering investment transparency, media presence, executive visibility, regulator contact, and how often they appear in AI search answers.
BetMGM ranked first in sports betting, ahead of DraftKings and FanDuel. ESPN Bet, Fanatics Sportsbook, and bet365 scored lowest in that category.
BetMGM also led the iGaming rankings. Sweepstakes operator stake.us scored lowest overall among all companies studied.
In the land-based casino category, MGM Resorts, BetMGM’s co-owner, scored highest.
The audit also tested how AI platforms describe operator safety programs. Researchers ran the same 12 prompts through ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity Pro, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, 20 times each.
Companies with more published responsible gambling content appeared more often in AI answers about player protection. BetMGM and DraftKings showed up most frequently in those results.
The findings arrive as questions grow about celebrity marketing’s actual impact. A YouGov survey earlier this year found 70% of U.S. adults said celebrity endorsements did not change their view of a gambling brand.
Among gamblers specifically, 43% said celebrity deals helped a brand stand out. About 40% said a celebrity endorsement made them more likely to consider a betting operator, while roughly 1 in 10 said it made their opinion worse.
The survey suggests celebrity marketing still builds awareness, but its power to shift opinion may be fading. 5W’s report argues operators could gain more from regulators, investors, and AI platforms by shifting some of that budget toward responsible gambling communications instead.
