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. 5W's own coverage of the $3.9B finding and what the data shows is here: The Gambling Industry Spent $3.9 Billion on Marketing Last Year — Here Is What the Data Shows.
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 5W casino practice — casino public relations and digital marketing — is built around closing that gap.
"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.
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
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.
Sports PR pillar — Sports betting integration sits at the intersection of sports communications and the Gaming Trust Index framework.
The Fall of FTX and Celebrity Endorsement — The canonical celebrity-endorsement-collapse case study that informs the celebrity-spend section of the Gaming Trust Index.
Frequently Asked Questions
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 Trust Index 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 AI Communications, founded in 2003. The index is led by 5W CEO Matt Caiola. The casino-focused practice underwriting the casino-side findings is described in detail at 5W's casino public relations and digital marketing practice. Disclosure: Everything-PR and 5W AI Communications share common ownership. Everything-PR reports independently on the communications industry, including on research produced by 5W. Editorial decisions are made by Everything-PR's editorial team.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
