The promise was clear: shield commuters from the "devastating" lure of gambling. Yet, the reality on London’s transport network tells a lucrative, contradictory story.

Since Mayor Sadiq Khan vowed to ban betting advertisements in 2021, gambling firms have poured nearly £5 million (approx. KES 825 million) into Transport for London (TfL), exposing a widening gap between political rhetoric and regulatory action.

For Kenyan observers, who have watched local authorities wrestle with the ubiquity of betting billboards from Nairobi to Eldoret, the situation in London serves as a cautionary tale on the complexities of regulating a multi-billion shilling industry.

The Cost of Delay

During his re-election campaign, Khan committed to extending an existing ban on junk food advertising to cover online casinos and bookmakers. He cited the need to protect vulnerable residents from addiction.

However, Freedom of Information requests obtained by The Guardian reveal that the mayor’s office has yet to operationalize this manifesto pledge. Instead, the network has hosted over 500 gambling campaigns since the promise was made.

The financial footprint of these campaigns is significant:

• Post-Pledge Spend: £4.6 million (approx. KES 759 million) spent on ads since the 2021 promise.
• Total Tenure Spend: Over £7.5 million (approx. KES 1.2 billion) spent across Khan’s three terms.
• Surging Volume: The number of campaigns more than doubled this year alone, hitting 223.

Khan’s office has attributed the delay to a "prolonged impasse" with the central government, arguing they lack necessary guidance on the specific links between advertising and harm to enforce a legally watertight ban.

A Global Struggle for Control

The stalemate has allowed controversial campaigns to slip through the net. This includes a recent advertisement for the online casino 888, which was eventually withdrawn following a public outcry over its flippant tone regarding gambling habits.

This regulatory tug-of-war resonates deeply in Kenya, where the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) frequently clashes with operators over advertising standards. Just as in Nairobi, where economic necessity often wars with social morality, TfL finds itself accepting revenue from the very industry its political leadership has vowed to curtail.

While the mayor’s team insists their hands are tied by Westminster’s sluggish policy-making, critics argue the delay is normalizing betting on the Underground, Overground, and the Elizabeth line.

As the standoff continues, the message to commuters remains mixed. The advertisements are visible, the revenue is banked, and the ban remains, for now, a political abstraction.