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The mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has been accused of backtracking on his pledge to banish gambling advertising on the Tube network in the British capital.
Known colloquially as the Tube, the London Underground is the mass rapid transport system used by millions of locals and tourists every day.
Khan was blasted after a ban on gambling ads was delayed until a set definition of harmful gambling is agreed.
Back in 2021, his election manifesto outlined that Transport for London (TfL) would be compelled to stop displaying the adverts.
As the head of the Greater London Authority (GLA), the Mayor has powers over key policy and government functions in the capital, with other bodies set up to scrutinise his decisions and performance.
At the GLA’s City Hall base, Green Party group leader Caroline Russell quizzed Khan on when he would follow through on his pre-election promise.
He responded stating he was constructing an “ethical advertising policy” for TfL, rather than reacting to complaints from citizens, leading to the removal of ads.
Sadiq Khan accused of 'backtracking' on promise to ban gambling adverts from the Tube https://t.co/Zob4QbZX0V
— The Standard (@theLDNstandard) March 25, 2025
Problem gambling in the capital is twice the national average
A key obstacle in the way is a potential legal challenge if TLA introduced gambling ad restrictions based on its own definition of harmful gambling.
Health advisor Dr Tom Coffey briefed on the matter, with his team tasked to “move as swiftly as possible” once the definition is published.
The assembly’s health committee previously warned that the rate of problem gambling in London was almost twice the national average.
The BBC’s Local Democracy Service also outlined the significant revenue gained by TfL from gambling ads, with £663,640 recorded between April 2022 and March 2023 alone.
Late last year, the current Labour Government in the United Kingdom confirmed plans to introduce a statutory levy on gambling operators.
20% of the revenue collected by the levy will be sent to UK Research and Innovation and the Gambling Commission to support further studies into gambling activity.
Image credit: Grok/X
