Leading online casino and betting platform Stake.com is reportedly under investigation by the UK’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), for advertising itself through viral social media posts. What disturbs ASA is the trend of superimposing the logo of the gambling company on viral social media posts, The Guardian reported.
The report quoted an unnamed ASA official, saying they are assessing the complaints and would see if there are grounds for further action. If ASA finds enough ground for action, it would report the matter to the Gambling Commission, responsible for taking action against entities that violate gambling laws.
ASA Investigates
The Australia-headquartered bookmaker with a white label license in the UK, Stake.com, is the front-of-shirt sponsor of the UK’s prestigious Everton Football Club from 2022-23. The license obliges Stake.com to abide by the country’s gambling laws.
According to the report, various complaints have accused Stake.com of working with X accounts to unofficially run advertisement campaigns, contravening the UK’s gambling rules.
While most of these social media posts originate outside the UK, they can be easily viewed in the UK. The ASA’s mandate is to ensure gambling ads are socially responsible and don’t target children and young population. After receiving the complaints, the ASA probes these unofficial social media ads.
Influencer Marketing Under Scrutiny
A key objective of UK gambling laws is that the adverts should not be of strong appeal to children and young people. Many social media posts with logos are created by influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers, mostly young people.
Another method to leverage influencers’ social media following is buying out such social media accounts by gambling companies, who then post promotional materials through such influencer accounts.
The Guardian report mentions rapper Drake, who is sponsored by Stake and often wagers substantial amounts of money. Images of his betting slips are routinely promoted on social media, with Stake’s logo prominently placed on the images. Now, many viral accounts are seen promoting the gambling company by strategically placing their logo on the images put out on social media.
