Betting operators have spent £456m on TV ads in UK since 2012

Betting companies active in the UK have spent almost half a billion pounds on television adverts since 2012, according to new research from media analyst Nielsen, published by the Guardian newspaper.

Operators offering sports betting, bingo, online casino games and poker spent a combined £456 million (€547.6 million/$609.7 million) on adverts, although this total increases to £631 million when including the £169 million spent by lotteries.

Last year, companies committed £118.5 million to television ads, up from £81.2 million in 2012.

This year, for the period through to the end of May, operators have spent £51.4 million on adverts, which, should this trend continue, will lead to a record spend of £123.4 million by the end of the year.

The figures come after leading horseracing trainer Mark Johnston called on UK free-to-air broadcaster ITV to reduce the focus on betting when it takes over coverage of the sport from next year.

Related article: TV should remove racing betting link, says trainer