The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint made against Instagram posts by oddschecker featuring Premier League stars for appealing to under-18s, in the latest gambling pushback from the watchdog.
Betway, the sports betting and online casino brand owned by Super Group, had a complaint against its own posts not upheld as part of a “wider piece of work on gambling ads”, the ASA said.
In both cases, a single complainant, a researcher from the University of Bristol, claimed both company’s adverts could be of appeal to under-18s, in breach of the CAP Code.
Oddschecker
Two Instagram posts were published by the odds comparison portal’s account, seen by the ASA in November 2025. One included an image of Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane as its centrepiece and the other an image of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
The caption on the Kane post was linked to his chances of winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or, while the Haaland post related to Norway being heavily backed with oddschecker to win the World Cup this summer.
Oddschecker argued its posts were not adverts but editorial content, which was the reason it gave for the absence of an age disclaimer or social responsibility messaging, which would normally accompany a piece of gambling marketing.
The FairPlay Sports Media-owned brand added that it had account-level measures to “restrict access to adults and to make the account’s intended audience clear”.
However, the ASA concluded that the intention of the posts was to induce audiences to place a bet with a bookmaker through oddschecker, and therefore they constituted advertising and would fall under the CAP Code.
As per the CAP Code, UK footballers at top clubs, national teams, in high-profile competitions and non-UK footballers with a large UK audience, are all likely to appeal strongly to under-18s.
As Kane and Haaland fall under this description and many under-18s use Instagram, ASA deemed the ads “irresponsible” and ordered oddschecker not to create any more posts featuring individuals of strong appeal to under-18s.
An oddschecker representative said: “The content from last year referred to our own brand, with no operator involvement, and it was considered internally that the tone and content placed the posts within an editorial context around “football personalities and events” rather than advertising.
“We have fully cooperated with the ASA throughout and have worked closely with our internal teams and partners to refresh both our guidance materials and approval processes, in acceptance of this ruling.
“We take this matter very seriously. We have not received an ASA complaint of this nature in the best part of a decade, and over the last 25 years of operating the Oddschecker brand we have always maintained the highest compliance standards and this remains of the utmost important to us.”
Betway
Also seen by the ASA in November was a Betway post on Instagram featuring an image of former Arsenal and Barcelona star Thierry Henry.
The post included a quote from the Frenchman, as well as the Betway logo, the text “bet the responsible way”, an 18+ logo and a GambleAware logo.
In response to the complaint, Betway argued that Thierry Henry appealed largely to an adult audience, having retired from football 12 years ago and having left the Premier League in 2007. Henry, 48, has since transitioned into punditry.
Betway also pointed to the small number of under-18s who followed Henry across his various social media profiles. A new benchmark of around 100,000 under-18s would indicate a large following.
Betway said Henry’s UK-based under-18s following was around 19,483 accounts.
While the ASA noted the ad was directly connected with the supply of betting services, the watchdog ruled it did not breach the CAP Code.
The ASA said he was more likely to be recognised as a pundit rather than a player, his TV appearances were unlikely to make him of strong appeal to under-18s, and his social media following was not skewed to under-18s.
No further action was by Betway’s, after the ASA ruled the ad did not breach the CAP Code.
In October 2025, the CAP issued updated guidance for gambling operators, including a new stipulation on the “appeal to under-18s” rule – that 100,000 social media followers was indicative of strong appeal.
One week later, the ASA announced sanctions against Sky Bet, kwiff and Betway for breaches of the regulations regarding appeal to under-18s.
The ASA also warned SkillonNet in April over an ad which the regulator said “trivialised” gambling harm.
The post ASA upholds complaint against oddschecker but spares Betway first appeared on EGR Intel.
Regulator deems ads using images of active Premier League footballers risk influencing under-18s, yet does not come to the same conclusion for retired players
The post ASA upholds complaint against oddschecker but spares Betway first appeared on EGR Intel.