ASA Clears Betway over Controversial Ad but Reprimands Oddschecker for Theirs

In a ruling published on 27 May 2026, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) cleared Betway for using former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry in a gambling advertisement. However, in a separate ruling published on the same day, the regulator ruled against odds comparison site Oddschecker for posts featuring Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.

ASA Clears Betway 

The cases focused on whether the footballers involved were likely to have “strong appeal” to people under 18 – a central standard under the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code regulating gambling advertisements. In Betway’s case, the ASA concluded that Thierry Henry, now 48 and retired from professional football since 2014, is currently more widely recognized as a television pundit than as a player.

ASA also accepted Betway’s submission that Henry’s 4.32 million social media followers were predominantly based outside the UK. Betway argued that only around 19,483 UK followers are estimated to be under 18. This is significantly below the 100,000 benchmark used in the CAP guidance as an indicator of strong youth appeal.

It isn’t the first time that the ASA has targeted Betway. For example, a few months ago, the regulator reprimanded Betway over an inappropriate F1 ad, once again arguing that it has a strong appeal to minors. However, at that time, the ASA was not convinced by Betway’s disputes, and it upheld its decision.

Oddschecker Didn’t Escape the ASA’s Ruling

While Betway escaped the ASA’s judgment, Oddschecker didn’t have the same luck, as its Instagram account posted images of Kane and Haaland alongside betting data. The ASA dismissed Oddschecker’s argument that the posts were editorial content rather than advertising, concluding that both were created to promote gambling through its platform.

Harry Kane, England captain and the second-highest Premier League goalscorer of all time, and Erling Haaland, a Premier League Golden Boot winner with Manchester City, were both considered to present a high level of appeal to under-18s. Oddschecker said it had introduced account-level measures to restrict access to adults, including setting its social media account to 18+. 

However, the ASA was not persuaded, and it instructed Oddschecker that the advertisements must not be shown again. The regulator pointed to Ofcom research from May 2025 indicating that 76% of 16–17-year-olds use Instagram, and that around 20% of under-18s on social media have used false ages to register.