Another week goes by, and another gambling advertisement finds itself under the spotlight of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This time, however, it’s two separate adverts: one from OddsChecker and the other from Betway. 

Back in November 2025, a complaint was made regarding two Instagram posts from OddsChecker after a researcher from the University of Bristol argued that the posts were in breach of advertising codes because they featured individuals who were likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s.

The first post, which featured on oddscheckertv’s account, featured an image of England football captain Harry Kane, alongside the caption “Harry Kane is the most backed player to win the Ballon d’Or in 2026 (32% of bets) [trophy emoji]”.

Meanwhile the second post, again featured on oddscheckertv’s account, displayed an image of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland with the text “NORWAY ARE THE MOST BACKED TO WIN 2026 WC”. 

The caption stated “In the last 24 hours, Norway to win the 2026 World Cup is the most backed bet placed through oddschecker. […] Their price has shortened to a general 50/1 but there is still 80/1 available with a couple of bookmakers… [eyes emoji]”.

While OddsChecker noted that both posts were “primarily editorial in nature, rather than ads”, the ASA ruled that the purpose of both posts was to promote the placing of a bet via a bookmaker offered via OddsChecker’s comparison site. 

This, the advertising watchdog said, deemed the posts to be more advertorial, encouraging gambling behaviours, meaning it falls “within the scope of the CAP Code”.

The ruling read: “We considered that it would have been acceptable for gambling ads which featured individuals likely to be of strong appeal to children to appear in a medium where those aged under 18, for all intents and purposes, could have been entirely excluded from the audience. That would apply in circumstances where those who saw the ads had been robustly age-verified as being 18 or older.

“The CAP Guidance on Gambling and lotteries: protecting under-18s, gave an indication of the risk level of the inclusion of persons in gambling ads. It stated that UK footballers, who played for top clubs, UK national teams or in high-profile competitions, and non-UK ‘star’ footballers, with a significant audience in the UK, were likely to be at high risk of being of strong appeal to under-18s.”

In response to the adverts in question, the ASA ruled that both ads were “irresponsible”, in breach of the CAP Code and must not appear again in the form complained of. 

No action needed for Betway

Betway’s advert didn’t quite face the same wrath from the ASA, with its advert deemed not to be in breach of the UK’s advertising codes. 

The advert in question, which featured on the operator’s Instagram page in November 2025, was identified for investigation following “complaints received and intelligence gathered by the ASA”.

Featuring an image of Thierry Henry, the post also included the Betway logo and the text “FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME, I CAN SEE THIS TEAM WINNING THE LEAGUE – NOT JUST AS AN ARSENAL FAN, BUT AS A FOOTBALL FAN AND AN ANALYST […]”.

The post stated “Thierry Henry talks about Arsenal’s squad depth […] Read our global ambassador’s latest interview via the link […] 18+ GambleAware”.

Similar to the OddsChecker advert, a researcher from the University of Bristol lodged a complaint that the ad included an individual who was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s and therefore was in breach of UK advertising codes.

It was Henry’s role as a football pundit that made him less likely to appeal to audiences under the age of 18, according to the ASA. 

Based on his age, as well as his public and media profile at the time that the post was featured on Betway’s Instagram page, Betway said that he was more likely to resonate with adult audiences across the UK. 

This was furthered by data, supplied by Betway, in response to the ASA investigation. It showed that, as of 16 December 2025, Henry only maintained a social media presence via Instagram. 

On Instagram, he had a total global following of 4.32 million; 11% of all his followers were based in the UK; and 177,120 (or 4.1%) of all his followers were under 18 years old.

Betway therefore estimated that 11% of 177,120 followers, which equated to 19,483, would be both under 18 and based in the UK. They believed that was significantly under the follower count defined by CAP Guidance as being indicative of strong appeal to under-18s.

The ruling read: “CAP Guidance stated that retired footballers who had moved into punditry would be assessed on the basis of their social and other media profile. We therefore assessed the appeal he was likely to have based on his punditry. We understood that it was primarily for CBS Sports, an American network not available in the UK. 

“He also made guest appearances on Sky Sports’ MNF Premier League coverage. We considered live Premier League games could be of strong appeal to UK under-18s. 

“However, we also considered that Thierry Henry’s role as one of a group of pundits, whose discussion of performance and tactics was at a remove from the game, would not hold the same interest for young people as players and managers. We therefore considered that his TV appearances were unlikely to make Thierry Henry of strong appeal to under-18s.

“For those reasons, we concluded that the ad was not of strong appeal to people aged under 18. We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12 (Gambling), but did not find it in breach. No further action necessary.”