The ads were deemed to have “strong appeal to under-18s.”
UK.- Two Instagram posts featuring images of footballers Harry Kane and Erling Haaland have been prohibited by the UK’s advertising regulator. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the promotions for Oddschecker, an online platform that compares odds from bookmakers, were “irresponsible” because the players have “strong appeal to under-18s.”
Both pieces of content were posted by Oddscheckertv’s Instagram account, leading to complaints lodged by a Bristol University researcher in November 2025. The first featured an image of Harry Kane with a caption that stated “Harry Kane is the most backed player to win the Ballon d’Or in 2026 (32% of bets) [trophy emoji]”.
The second post featured an image of Erling Haaland. Text stated “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]”.
Cyan Blue Odds Ltd, the operator of Oddschecker, argued that the posts were “primarily editorial in nature, rather than ads” and stressed that its account was restricted to users aged 18 and above. It said this was why no age disclaimer or responsible gambling message appeared.
However, the ASA countered that “at least a significant number of children who had not used their real date of birth when signing up” would have been able to access the material. It ruled that Kane and Haaland posed “a high risk of strong appeal to under-18s.” As such, the ads were deemed irresponsible and breached the CAP Guidance on Gambling and lotteries.
Thierry Henry ad cleared
The cases is part of a series of probes being carried out into betting promotions on social media. However, in a separate case, the regulator has rejected a complaint against an Instagram post made by Betway. This one featured former Arsenal striker turned pundit Thierry Henry. Unlike Kane and Haaland, Henry was judged unlikely to have strong appeal to under-18s, meaning the ad did not violate the rules.
Also reported in November, the post featured an image of Henry wiith text that stated “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 image included the Betway logo, the text “bet the responsible way”, an 18+ symbol and the begambleaware.org logo.
As with other recent rulings, the matter came down to a question of the former player’s exposure among young people. The ASA noted that Henry had retired from football in 2014 and, with the exception of a short loan to Arsenal in 2012, had left the UK Premier League in 2007 and European Football in 2010.
As a result, it judged him to be “primarily known among adult football fans rather than the younger generation”. It also took into consideration the fact that at the time of the ad, Henry’s punditry and analysis was mainly for CBS Sports, a US network not available in the UK, rather than for youth channels, and that while it recognised that some Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football clips had the potential to go viral, these tended to focus on tactical analysis and long-form football discussion; formats that appealed to adults rather than to under-18s.
Last month, the ASA reversed a ruling against Ladbrokes’ Ladbucks rewards initiative. In June 2025, it had upheld two complaints that suggested that the Entain-owned operator’s Ladbucks branding and imagery bore a resemblance to in-game currencies like Fortnite’s V-Bucks and Roblox’s Robux, potentially making the campaign appealing to children.
In its revised judgment, the ASA acknowledged that parallels existed but concluded the similarities were too broad to constitute a “strong” appeal to under-18s. It recognised that token-based systems are common not only in gaming but also in adult loyalty programmes.