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The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued warnings to both Betway and Kwiff for running advertisements that likely appealed to individuals under 18.
In one specific case involving Super Group-owned Betway, a complaint arose regarding a YouTube advertisement that aired in May. The ad featured a football fan wearing gear with the logo of Chelsea, a Premier League club. The complainant argued that the prominent display of the Chelsea logo could attract underage viewers, thereby violating advertising regulations.
Betway argue that the ad was not gambling-related
In its defense, Betway argued that the advertisement was focused on its rewards scheme rather than its gambling services. The company pointed out that official guidelines permit gambling ads to include elements that “specifically identify a subject of the gambling activity,” which encompasses sports team logos.
Betway claims that the ad did not feature any live football action and instead highlighted the stadium itself. It noted that rewards club members could win a tour of Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. Furthermore, the individuals appearing in the video were all over 18 and included actual competition winners rather than actors.
Additionally, Betway stated that it had the right to use Chelsea logos due to its partnership with the club. The company also mentioned that the advertisement was aimed at logged-in YouTube users aged 25 and older.
ASA dismiss Betway’s claim with Ofcom research
The ASA disagreed with Betway’s defense, stating that while guidelines do permit the use of club logos, this allowance is limited to instances where logos are featured in a standalone context, such as at the end of an advertisement. The ASA noted that the repeated appearance of the logos throughout the ad violated this rule and could attract under-18 viewers.
Moreover, the ASA rejected Betway’s assertion that the ad targeted YouTube users aged 25 and older. The authority pointed out that YouTube allows users to self-verify their age during sign-up and lacks robust age-verification measures. Consequently, the ASA concluded that Betway failed to effectively exclude under-18s from its audience.
To support its ruling, the ASA referenced Ofcom research from the 2025 survey, which revealed that 81% of 8- to 17-year-olds active on social media used YouTube. The research also estimated that around 20% of this age group with their own profiles had registered their age as at least 18.
“Given that evidence, we considered it was likely that there was at least a significant number of children who had not used their real date of birth when signing up to YouTube and were able to see and access content intended for those aged 18 or older, meaning they could view advertising content from gambling operators,” the ASA said.
“We concluded that the ad was irresponsible and breached the code.”
Kwiff warned over 2024 Lewis Hamilton ad
The ASA has also ruled against Kwiff, a brand under Eaton Gate Gaming, for an advertisement featuring British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton. The ad was posted on X ahead of the 2024 British Grand Prix and included an image of Hamilton, a link to a related article on Kwiff’s website, and both an 18+ symbol and GambleAware branding.
A complaint from a researcher at the University of Bristol raised concerns that Hamilton’s presence in the ad could appeal to viewers under 18.
Ad was for blog not gambling
In response, Kwiff provided a detailed defense, arguing that the ad was intended to direct traffic to a blog article rather than promote its gambling services. They emphasized that the article contained sports commentary and did not focus on gambling.
Kwiff also claimed that none of its followers on X were under 18 and pointed out the lack of a standardized age verification process on social media platforms. They claimed that they took reasonable measures to limit the ad’s exposure to younger audiences.
Additionally, Kwiff suggested that Hamilton would likely attract older F1 fans, arguing that younger supporters would be more interested in younger drivers.
X responded by clarifying that the post was organic and not a paid advertisement. They noted that since the post’s appearance last year, they have implemented a multi-step age assurance process in compliance with the UK Online Safety Act.
ASA rejects Kwiff’s claims too
ASA disagreed with Kwiff’s argument that Hamilton would not appeal to under-18s and cited his popularity in the country and beyond. They also claimed that X’s reporting feature was not enough, and the age-verification methods didn’t provide minors with enough protection.
“We accepted that X had an additional measure in place, whereby third parties could report accounts that they believed were under age,” it said. “While helpful, we considered that this measure was unlikely to effectively identify all accounts that had falsely claimed to be over 18.”
“We acknowledged Sir Lewis Hamilton was primarily famous for his association with an adult-oriented sport but considered he was very well known to a general UK audience, including to children and young people.
“We considered, based on his public profile, commercial partnerships, media appearances and UK under-18 social media following, that he had strong appeal to under-18s. For those reasons, we concluded the ad was irresponsible and breached the code,” it concluded.
Source: iGB
