ASA mandates deletion of Oddschecker’s Instagram posts featuring Harry Kane and Erling Haaland

(AsiaGameHub) –   The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has sustained complaints against Cyan Blue Odds Ltd—operating as Oddschecker—over two Instagram posts that violated advertising rules related to gambling and the protection of under-18s. 

The ASA announced its findings and resulting conclusion on Wednesday.

The posts, shared on the company’s OddscheckerTV Instagram account in November 2025, featured prominent footballers Harry Kane and Erling Haaland and referenced betting activity, triggering regulatory intervention. 

One Instagram post highlighted England captain Kane with the tagline: “Harry Kane is the most backed player to win the Ballon d’Or in 2026 (32% of bets)”. 

A second post featured Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and stated: “Norway are the most backed to win 2026 WC”, emphasizing shortened odds and noting higher prices available from some bookmakers.

The complaint was filed by a University of Bristol researcher who raised concerns that the posts’ use of high-profile footballers would strongly appeal to under-18s, potentially encouraging gambling among young people.

Oddschecker’s Defence

Oddschecker argued that the posts constituted editorial commentary rather than direct advertising and thus were not subject to gambling advertising rules—including requirements for age disclaimers and social responsibility messaging. 

The company also stressed safeguards on its Instagram account, which had a minimum age restriction of 18+ and a bio statement indicating the content was intended for adults.

ASA’s Findings

The ASA rejected Oddschecker’s position. The regulator determined the posts qualified as marketing communications for gambling-facilitating services because they:

• appeared in an unpaid space controlled by Oddschecker;
• explicitly referenced betting volumes and bookmaker odds;
• and seemed designed to encourage users to place bets via Oddschecker’s platform,

As such, they fell under the CAP Code’s gambling advertising rules, including social responsibility provisions in Rule 1.3 of Edition 12.

The Data

To assess the posts’ appeal to under-18s, the ASA applied the Code’s social responsibility tests, drawing on recent research into youth social media usage. Key findings included:

• 52% of 13-15-year-olds and 76% of 16-17-year-olds use Instagram regularly (Ofcom data);
• Many under-18s register accounts with false 18+ ages to bypass platform age restrictions;
• Instagram’s age-verification methods—relying primarily on self-declared age plus emerging AI checks—were not robust enough to prevent under-18 access.

Regarding content appeal, the ASA highlighted the footballers’ high profiles and popularity with young people. The regulator concluded using these personalities in gambling-related posts was “irresponsible” due to their strong appeal to under-18s.

The ASA instructed Cyan Blue Odds Ltd not to reuse the posts in their current form. Additionally, the company was warned against including individuals or characters with strong under-18 appeal in future gambling advertising.

Thierry Henry Ad Not Appealing to Under-18s

In contrast, the ASA did not uphold a complaint against a Betway Instagram post featuring French coach and former player Thierry Henry. 

The post promoted an interview with Henry, Betway’s global ambassador, discussing Arsenal’s football prospects. It displayed Betway branding, responsible gambling logos, an 18+ symbol, and a reference to GambleAware, the UK’s responsible gambling charity.

Betway argued Henry’s prominence skews toward an older demographic: he is retired from professional football and primarily works as a pundit on US-based CBS Sports. They provided data showing his under-18 UK Instagram following was low.

The ASA concurred that Henry’s current profile and limited exposure in UK youth media meant he was unlikely to have “strong appeal” to UK under-18s. While Henry has a large overall social-media following, the UK under-18 segment was acceptably low per CAP guidance thresholds.

Youth and Gambling Advertisements

This ruling comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny of gambling advertising’s reach to young UK audiences. 

Current UK advertising regulations prohibit gambling marketing likely to attract children or young people—including using influential figures who might encourage imitation. Despite this, the ASA recently cleared Ladbrokes over a “Ladbucks” advertising complaint, where the name was alleged to resemble video game currency. 

While the tokens looked similar to such currency, the ASA determined they did not mirror the ads and thus did not necessarily hold strong appeal for minors.

MPs recently framed UK gambling advertising as a “health issue” following a report commissioned by the APPG for Gambling Reform. The report recommended reforms including a pre-9pm watershed blanket ban on gambling ads.