The U.S. gambling industry spent $3.9 billion on marketing in 2025. It spent $90 million on PR and earned media.
That 43-to-1 ratio between total marketing and the channel that generates the highest documented return on brand credibility is the central finding of the inaugural 5W Gaming Trust Index, published today. The index is the first annual study to document marketing spend allocation across sports betting, online gaming, and land-based casino operators and cross-reference those allocations against brand credibility outcomes. No proprietary consumer survey data is used.
The Numbers
Television: $1.42 billion. Digital performance: $980 million. Celebrity partnerships: $520 million. Sports sponsorships: $410 million. Paid social: $280 million. Out-of-home: $140 million. Earned media and PR: $90 million. Responsible gambling programs: $60 million.
The two line items at the bottom generate the highest brand credibility return of any channel in the analysis. Together they receive 3.8% of total industry spend.
“When we mapped the spend against the credibility outcomes, the inverse relationship was stark. The industry is not underinvesting in marketing. It is misallocating it. Those are different problems with different solutions.”
— Matt Caiola, CEO, 5W
Why the Celebrity Ratio Matters Beyond Brand Strategy
The $520M-to-$60M celebrity-to-RG ratio is documented in the index not just as a brand efficiency question but as a regulatory and investor exposure. State legislators evaluating legalization bills are watching how operators present themselves on responsible gaming. ESG analysts at funds holding Flutter, MGM, and Caesars equity are asking about RG investment as a proportion of marketing spend. The current ratio is the answer to that question. It is not a comfortable one, and it will not hold as scrutiny increases.
The Land-Based GEO Gap
The index’s extension into land-based casino is its most distinctive contribution for PR practitioners. Major casino brands generate millions of monthly branded searches. The content filling those searches is almost entirely unmanaged. Review aggregators. Financial reporting. Regulatory news. Operator-controlled narrative is largely absent from the results.
As AI search tools become the primary consumer research channel, this translates directly into operators losing control of their brand narratives to third-party sources. For agencies and practitioners with gaming vertical expertise, this is one of the largest unaddressed content strategy gaps in American consumer marketing.
“The casino brands with the most search volume in the country do not have content strategies commensurate with that visibility. That is an unusual situation. It will not last. The question is who addresses it first.”
— Matt Caiola, CEO, 5W
Online Gaming and the First-Mover Argument
Online gaming receives the lowest communications investment per GGR dollar of any segment in the analysis — despite $12.8 billion in 2025 revenue and four major states in active legalization pipeline. The index cites Michigan’s 2021 launch as evidence that pre-legalization earned media presence translates to post-launch market share advantage. Operators in Illinois, New York, Indiana, and Virginia who are not building that infrastructure now are making a decision they will not be able to reverse at launch.
The full Gaming Trust Index 2026 is available free at https://www.5wpr.com/research/gaming-trust-index-2026/
Published methodology, full spend breakdown, sector analysis for all three segments.
Sources & Methodology
The Gaming Trust Index draws exclusively on publicly available data. No proprietary consumer surveys, panels, or undisclosed operator data are used. The analysis triangulates four source categories:
Marketing and advertising spend:
- MediaRadar — cross-channel ad spend tracking (television, digital, out-of-home)
- iSpot.tv — linear and streaming television advertising measurement
- Nielsen Ad Intelligence — multi-channel advertising spend data
- Pathmatics — digital advertising and paid social spend tracking
Gaming revenue and market data:
- American Gaming Association (AGA) — Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker
- State gaming regulators — Michigan Gaming Control Board, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, and equivalent bodies in all 38 legal U.S. gaming states
- H2 Gambling Capital — global and U.S. gambling market forecasts
- Eilers & Krejcik Gaming — iGaming and sports betting market analysis
Operator financial disclosures:
- SEC 10-K and 10-Q filings from Flutter Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, Penn Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, Churchill Downs, Bally's, Red Rock Resorts, and Wynn Resorts
- Public earnings call transcripts and investor presentations, 2023–2025
Responsible gambling and regulatory data:
- National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) — state-by-state responsible gambling program funding
- Responsible Gambling Council — program and budget disclosures
- State legislative records for active iGaming and sports betting legalization bills
Brand visibility and search data:
- Google Trends — branded search volume, 2023–2025
- Ahrefs and SEMrush — keyword volume, SERP composition, and domain authority data for the top 50 U.S. casino brands by search volume
Methodology:
Spend figures are calendar year 2025 unless otherwise noted. Dollar figures are rounded to the nearest $10 million. The ratio between total marketing spend and earned media investment is calculated as (total marketing spend ÷ earned media spend). Brand credibility outcomes are measured through publicly observable indicators: share-of-voice in tier-one media, branded search trend, and SERP ownership for branded queries. No consumer survey, panel, or proprietary research is used.
For the full methodology, dataset, and sector-by-sector analysis, see the complete Gaming Trust Index 2026 at 5wpr.com/research/gaming-trust-index-2026/.
What is the Gaming Trust Index?
The Gaming Trust Index is an annual research study published by 5W that documents marketing spend allocation across the U.S. gambling industry — sports betting, online gaming, and land-based casino operators — and cross-references those allocations against brand credibility outcomes. The inaugural 2026 edition is the first annual study of its kind. It is available free at 5wpr.com/research/gaming-trust-index-2026/.
How much did U.S. gambling operators spend on marketing in 2025?
U.S. gambling operators spent $3.9 billion on marketing in 2025, according to the 5W Gaming Trust Index. Of that total, $1.42 billion went to television, $980 million to digital performance, $520 million to celebrity partnerships, $410 million to sports sponsorships, $280 million to paid social, $140 million to out-of-home, $90 million to earned media and PR, and $60 million to responsible gambling programs.
What is the celebrity-to-responsible-gambling spend ratio?
U.S. gambling operators spent $520 million on celebrity partnerships in 2025 and $60 million on responsible gambling programs — an 8.7-to-1 ratio. The Gaming Trust Index flags this ratio as a rising concern among state legislators evaluating legalization bills and ESG analysts holding positions in Flutter, MGM, and Caesars.
Which states are in the iGaming legalization pipeline?
The Gaming Trust Index identifies Illinois, New York, Indiana, and Virginia as four states with active iGaming legalization pipelines. The index cites Michigan's 2021 iGaming launch as evidence that pre-legalization earned media presence translates to post-launch market share advantage for operators who invest early.
What is the land-based casino GEO gap?
Major U.S. casino brands generate millions of monthly branded searches, but the content ranking for those searches is almost entirely third-party — review aggregators, financial reporting, and regulatory news. As AI search tools become the primary consumer research channel, casino operators are losing control of their own brand narratives. The Gaming TrustIndex identifies this as one of the largest unaddressed content strategy gaps in U.S. consumer marketing.
Why does earned media deliver higher brand credibility return than paid channels?
According to the Gaming Trust Index, earned media and PR received only $90 million of the $3.9 billion U.S. gambling marketing spend in 2025 — roughly 2.3% of total industry investment — despite generating the highest documented return on brand credibility of any channel analyzed. The index frames this as a misallocation problem, not an underinvestment problem.
Who published the Gaming Trust Index?
The Gaming Trust Index is published by 5W, one of the largest independent public relations and digital marketing firms in the United States. 5W was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in New York City. The index is led by 5W CEO Matt Caiola.
