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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled against Lewis Hamilton’s inclusion in betting social media campaigns for the second time this quarter.

Betway has been told to remove a Facebook post from 4 July 2025 which centred around Formula One. The post featured a video of three F1 drives, filmed from behind, along with the Betway logo.

The driver standing in the middle of the trio wore a red uniform with ‘Hamilton’ sketched across the back, while the other two did not have any names. A heading read ‘Who’s the best of the Brits?’.

A complainant queried whether the ad violated the CAP Code by featuring someone who may be of strong appeal to under-18s. The ASA has upheld this complaint, reiterating its view that Hamilton has a strong appeal to young people and comes across as a role model.

The ASA’s statement explained: “The ad featured Sir Lewis Hamilton, who had won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles and was recognised with a knighthood in 2021 for his outstanding achievements and contribution to motorsport.

“In his “Hall of Fame” bio on the Formula 1 website, Sir Lewis Hamilton was described as recognising his responsibility as a role model for young people, which further described that “the social media star encouraged his millions of supporters in ‘Team Hamilton’ to follow their dreams and never give up”.

The ASA did say that it may have allowed the use of an athlete with strong appeal to under-18s in a medium where visibility by that demographic could be excluded, but did not consider Facebook to be such a medium.

To support its rationale, the ASA referenced Hamilton’s 6.3 million Facebook followers – though noting that the demographic of these has not been determined – as well as his 1.6 million under-18 followers across Instagram and TikTok.

Hit brakes on Lewis Hamilton ads
To avoid bad press, it’s probably best for the betting industry to avoid using Hamilton, and probably other F1 drivers, on social media posts and other marketing. As noted above, this is not the first time the seven-time drivers champion has appeared in an ASA ruling.

Just under two months ago, a plethora of ASA rulings came out in just one day, one of which focused on Hamilton’s inclusion in a kwiff social media post. Similar to the Betway post, the kwiff one came ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this year, which Hamilton won.

Marketing is becoming an increasingly complex task for operators, with the CAP Code guidance presenting multiple factors for operators to consider. On the same day as the kwiff ruling, Betway was told to remove a post featuring Chelsea FC scarves and Sky Bet to remove a post featuring Gary Neville, despite football pundits and retired players previously being approved in other ASA rulings.

As the dust settles on last week’s UK budget, however, marketing expenditure is likely going to decrease too. Operators need to cut costs as they prepare for tax hikes to take effect from April next year, and marketing is a logical first step.

As marketing expenditure drops, perhaps recurrent complaints – the ASA has issued countless rulings this week while University of Bristol researchers seem to be a constant source of complaints – will also drop.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has increased its regulatory scrutiny of Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs) throughout this year.

Andrew RhodesCredit:UKGC
This was confirmed by UKGC CEO Andrew Rhodes himself in his speech during amusements trade body Bacta’s Annual Convention in Leeds.

Rhodes confirmed that official communiques were sent out by the regulator to all licensed AGCs earlier this year, reminding them of obligations around self-exclusion.

Although not directly referenced, this move could’ve been prompted by an undercover BBC investigation published back in June where a reporter was allowed access to multiple AGC venues in South England despite self-excluding themselves prior to that.

At the time, John Bollom, then-President of Bacta, criticised the investigation for being “unrepresentative” of the land-based arcade sector that the organisation represents – words also echoed by Rhodes in his latest speech.

“The media coverage often implies that one case or one example is indicative of the industry or sector as a whole. You know, this may be unfair, but it is the reality,” the UKGC CEO said.

“Earlier this year, the Commission wrote to all adult gaming centre licensees to remind them of their obligations around self-exclusion.

“Unfortunately, despite the warnings, some operators weren’t taking their responsibilities seriously. At the start of this month we announced that we had taken decisive regulatory action.

“Seven AGC operators have seen their operating licences immediately suspended this year for failing to be part of a self-exclusion scheme. While most of those licences have since been reinstated following clear steps to remedy failings, all operators concerned remain under investigation, which may result in further regulatory action being taken.”

Illegal land-based gambling ripe for culling
Whether or not the UKGC was reminded of its land-based compliance assessment duties by the BBC report remains a topic of speculation. One thing, however, that remains fully within the UKGC remit and which the regulator never leaves out of sight is funding.

The 25 November Budget announcement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves revealed a total of £26m of additional funds set aside for the regulator, to be granted over a period of three years.

This was warmly welcomed by the UKGC and the importance of the announcement was further emphasised by Rhodes’ words: “In my 20 years on executive boards of public bodies I’ve never known that kind of multiple from the Treasury ever before.”

The top honcho of UK gambling regulation additionally revealed that the money will be used specifically to push back against illegal land-based gambling, but what exactly that fight will look like still remains to be seen.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) signed a joint declaration against black market gaming with its peers in Europe on the morning the government increased taxes and a £26m war chest to fight unlicensed operators. The government said that the tax rises will cause some leakage to the black market, which it factored into its sums.…

One of the biggest casinos in Leeds’ city centre is operational once more, as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has lifted the suspension of VGC Leeds Limited’s licence, the operator of Victoria Gate Casino.

The casino had its licence suspended earlier this month by the UKGC due to significant anti-money laundering concerns, commencing a review of its operations.

However, that suspension has now been lifted by the commission, as of earlier today, following widespread changes by the operator.

The UKGC stated that VGC Leeds was “reasonably believed to have failed to maintain and implement effective anti-money laundering policies, procedures, and controls” when suspending the operator.

This included “the adequacy of decision-making processes and the Licensee’s response to identified anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing risks”, with the commission noting that this raised questions about the operator’s overall governance and risk management arrangement effectiveness.

Widespread changes

Victoria Gate Casino has its licence once more following improvements, but monitoring of its operations will continue to ensure it stays compliant with regulatory requirements.

“On 25 November 2025 the suspension of VGC Leeds Limited’s licence was lifted following significant action taken by the operator,” stated the UKGC.

“This has included widespread changes to the casino’s leadership, AML and compliance supervisors, implementation of new anti-money laundering and safer gambling policies and procedures, improved staff training on AML and social responsibility, and a commitment to undergo an independent audit within six weeks.

“During the course of the ongoing review, the Commission will continue to monitor the operator closely to ensure full and sustained compliance with the Licensing requirements is achieved.”

Videoslots AML fine

While Victoria Gate Casino is now allowed to operate once more, Videoslots Limited, the operator of Videoslots, Mr Vegas and Mega Riches, has been ordered to pay £650,000 for AML and social responsibility failures.

A UKGC investigation found that one customer was able to fund their account in excess of £75,000 using digital pre-payment vouchers, before transferring the proceeds of their gambling activity to four different bank accounts.

Despite the presence of these high-risk factors, the customer’s automated AML risk score did not trigger the threshold for the operator to request source of funds information promptly, “leading to unacceptable delays in an account review taking place”.

The investigation also found failures with Videoslots’ deposit limit mechanism, as well as its monitoring systems not identifying customers who are at risk of potential gambling harm effectively.

As a result, the operator received a financial penalty, a warning and will undergo a third-party audit to ensure AML and safer gambling policies and procedures are being implemented.

A Labour MP has launched a tirade against gambling industry adverts, claiming that “nobody wants to see them”.

Alex Ballinger, MP for Halesowen and a consistent advocate for greater taxation and regulation of the gambling industry, implied the industry should reset its priorities as stakeholders continue to raise warnings over the potential implications of tax rises.

The accusations come after figures were published by The Guardian, which estimated gambling companies, including the lottery, spent £2bn on marketing in 2024.

“Perhaps gambling firms should think about cutting back on adverts that nobody wants to see before pushing back against paying fair taxes on their vast profits, particularly given the harms they cause,” Ballinger said, as he described the £2bn figure as an “astronomic sum”.

Ballinger was among the 101 Labour MPs who signed a letter in September urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to take a “polluter pays” approach to taxing online gaming, arguing that the sector faces a lighter financial burden compared to markets such as the Netherlands and Austria.

The group joined think tanks, opposition parties and the former MP Gordon Brown in piling pressure on Reeves to target gambling ahead of the UK budget.

In response, industry leaders have warned of significant consequences if the sector’s financial burden is increased as part of Wednesday’s (26 November) budget, including the prospect of job losses, venue closures and a reduction in investment within the UK sector.

BGC battles back

Chief among those battling on the gambling industry’s behalf has been the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).

The industry body has refuted The Guardian’s report, claiming that the true figure sits closer to £1bn and has declined in recent years, while also warning that “undermining” advertising spend by regulated operators plays directly into the hands of the UK’s black market.

“20% of all broadcast and digital advertising is dedicated entirely to safer gambling messaging, a voluntary commitment made by the UK industry,” a BGC spokesperson said.

“Further tax rises would simply drive more consumers towards the growing black market that offers no age checks, no safer gambling tools and no tax contribution, while undermining advertising spend that differentiates the regulated market.”

Fears over black market advertising are not unfounded. A Reuters report published last month raised major concerns over the extent of fraudulent ads across Meta’s platforms, including for online casinos.

According to the report, the tech giant projected that 10% of its overall annual revenue for 2024 – roughly $16bn – came from running ads for scams and banned goods.

These concerns were also echoed by Eilers & Krejcik’s industry analyst, Alun Bowden, who questioned how people will navigate the “almost invisible” barriers to the black market.

A recent study from the UKGC revealed that only a minority of players are aware that they have strayed into the illegal market.

“In a world where one site can look much like another on the surface, and the differences are in the nuances underneath, then how do you stand out?” said Bowden.

“If you reduce advertising spend significantly, then you give more parity to black market operators who are increasingly spending more on SEO, affiliates, streamers and social media.”