Betway ad featuring Sir Lewis Hamilton banned for appeal to under-18s

An ad for gambling firm Betway featuring Sir Lewis Hamilton has been banned for the likelihood it would strongly appeal to under 18-year-olds.

The paid-for Facebook ad, seen in July, featured a video of three Formula 1 drivers standing in the grandstand watching a race, taken from behind, with the middle driver wearing a red uniform with the name “Hamilton” across the back.

The video included the Betway logo throughout.

Text in a caption stated: “It’s the British GP (Grand Prix) this weekend and there’s more than one local hero vying for top spot at Silverstone. Will Hamilton maintain his home track dominance? Or can the new gen achieve legendary status?”

A complainant challenged whether the ad included an individual who was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s and therefore breached regulations.

In its response to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Betway did not dispute that Sir Lewis was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s.

However, it said the way he was presented in the ad would have limited any such appeal.

While Betway acknowledged that the image was meant to represent Sir Lewis, they argued that it was not actually an image of him and believed his appearance and positioning in the ad successfully limited the appeal to under-18s.

They said Sir Lewis’s involvement in the ad was minimal and that his inclusion contributed to a broader conversation about the British Grand Prix.

The firm also provided data showing that Sir Lewis had 1.6 million under-18 followers out of a total of 39.7 million on Instagram, and 92,400 under-18 followers out of a total of 1.4 million on TikTok. They said he had a total audience of 6.3 million on Facebook, and 8.5 million on X, but that they did not have the under-18 follower details for those accounts.

They said the ad ran for a limited time and included control settings which sought to target users aged over 25 years.

The ASA said Facebook, as with other media platforms at the time the ad was seen, relied on users to self-verify their ages on signing up, and therefore under-18s could falsely claim they were over 18 when creating an account.

The ASA said consumers, including those aged under 18, would have clearly recognised the figure as being Sir Lewis, despite his face not being visible.

The ASA said: “We considered Sir Lewis Hamilton was a notable star within the sport, with a significant public profile and social media following.

“As such, we considered that Sir Lewis Hamilton would have had strong appeal to under-18s, as both a moderate risk in terms of his status in an adult-oriented sport, and his significant social media following.”

It added: “We noted that Betway did not dispute that Sir Lewis Hamilton was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s, however, for the reasons stated above, we considered that the ad featured Sir Lewis Hamilton, and considered, based on his public profile and under-18 social media following that he had strong appeal to under-18s.

“For those reasons, we concluded the ad was irresponsible and breached the code.”

The regulator ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form, adding: “We told Betway not to include a person or character who had strong appeal to those under 18 years of age.”

Betway parent company Super Group said in a statement: “As a responsible and fully licensed operator, we take great care to ensure that our promotional and advertising content adhere to the strict regulations that govern our industry. We remain committed to working closely with governing bodies to continually strengthen our compliance frameworks, policies, and procedures relating to this type of content.

“We have fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to take proactive steps to ensure that all recommendations and findings are implemented. Betway has absolutely no interest in marketing to children or young people. Our content undergoes a rigorous multi-stage review process before publication.

“This particular video intended for an adult audience was subject to the same thorough checks. It was believed to be fully compliant with the industry guidelines that existed at the time of publication. We would never knowingly produce or release any content that breaches those rules.”

It is the second “strong appeal” ruling featuring Sir Lewis in two months.

In October, the ASA banned a post on gambling firm Kwiff’s X account that read: “A potentially huge weekend for Sir Lewis Hamilton ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone #F1.”

The ASA ruled that the ad was irresponsible and breached regulations considering Sir Lewis’s public profile, commercial partnerships, media appearances and UK under-18 social media following.