Lewis Hamilton and Chelsea FC Gambling Advertisements Banned
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
Gambling advertisements featuring the Formula 1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton and the Chelsea FC logo have been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following complaints that they would influence children.
The advertisements were published by two gambling firms, Kwiff and Betway.
The Betway YouTube advertisement featured football fans wearing clothes with the Chelsea logo, and the Kwiff post on X promoted the British Grand Prix with Hamilton's picture.
Both betting companies were warned not to include any character who had a strong appeal to viewers under the age of 18 years old.
The Kwiff post featured an image of Hamilton with a text highlighting a "huge weekend" for him at the British Grand Prix, accompanied by an "18+" symbol and the BeGambleAware.org logo. The post also included a link to an article on the Kwiff website about the race.
According to Kwiff, its data showed that Hamilton appealed to an older audience rather than those aged under 18, and that the post was intended to drive traffic to their company blog, described as an "editorial commentary" on a website which was separate from their gambling platform.
Kwiff has since reviewed its social media accounts and removed any content that displayed mainstream sportspeople.
In its ruling, the ASA stated that:
"We considered Sir Lewis Hamilton was a notable star within the sport, with a significant public profile and social media following."
The ASA also referred to Hamilton's 150,000 Instagram followers who were under 18 and based in the UK, as a sign of his appeal among youths. It also mentioned that Hamilton had appeared in the F1 24 video game, with an age rating of three years old and above, and was a storyteller on a programme aired, last year, by the BBC CBeebies children’s channel.
The ASA added that:
"As such, we considered that Kwiff would have been aware of the possibility that Sir Lewis Hamilton would have strong appeal to under-18s.”
Regarding the Betway advertisement, the ASA considered that YouTube was an unsuitable platform for it, as advertisers could not guarantee that their content would exclude under-18-year-old viewers.
The ASA held that:
"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."
Betway in response claimed that YouTube ad policies offered further safeguards against under-18s being exposed to age-restricted content. according to ASA's statement.
And added that:
“Banning the advert could set a damaging precedent for gambling sponsorships in sport.”
Chelsea stated that:
"Our collaboration with Betway was no exception and both parties believed the content of this advertisement was fully compliant and adhered to all guidelines."
Complying with UK advertising legal requirements is a veritable minefield, especially when advertisements may appeal to children or involve sports gambling, but, to save time and money, advertisers are able to obtain pre-publication advice from the ASA, through its Copy Advice Service, which is free and confidential.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
