ASA ruling: Dribble Media’s Son Heung Min post breaches “strong appeal” rules for gambling ads
Introduction
The Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) has upheld a complaint against Dribble Media Ltd t/a Midnite in relation to a social media post featuring a video of Tottenham Hotspur footballer, Son Heung-Min. The regulator found that the content constituted a marketing communication directly connected with the supply of betting services and that it breached the CAP Code’s “strong appeal” rules for gambling advertising by including a high‑profile footballer likely to be of strong appeal to under‑18s. This case affirms the importance of following the guidance recently updated by the ASA and highlights that social media content intended primarily for humour can still fall within the scope of the rules.
The Ad
On 23 May 2025, Midnite posted a short video clip on social media, featuring Son Heung‑Min lifting the Europa League trophy following Tottenham Hotspur’s victory in the final. The caption read “How bro starts acting after winning £8.10 from a 30p 8 fold acca bet.”, in reference to an accumulator betting slip. A University of Bristol researcher complained that the ad included a person of strong appeal to under‑18s.
Midnite argued that the post was primarily intended to be topical football humour rather than a marketing communication designed to sell products, drive advertising traffic or promote specific gambling services. Midnite removed the post on contact from the ASA and stated it had implemented a revised marketing policy to ensure social media content complies with the CAP Code.
The ASA’s assessment
The ASA upheld the complaint for the following reasons:
- Scope and purpose: the post appeared in non‑paid‑for space under Midnite’s control and directly referenced an accumulator bet and a monetary win. The ASA considered the purpose of the post was to promote the brand by creating a viral football moment; it was therefore “directly connected with the supply” of betting services and fell within paragraph I(h) of the scope of the Code.
- Strong appeal: since 1 October 2022 the CAP Code has prohibited gambling ads likely to be of strong appeal to under‑18s, (please see our previous Law Now on this here: ASA and CAP Guidance Update: Strong Appeal Rules for Gambling Ads). CAP’s guidance notes that football has exceptionally high youth participation and media profile and that elite UK footballers are considered high risk in a gambling advertising context. Son Heung‑Min, a Premier League and national team star, therefore presented a strong‑appeal risk. Humorous “editorial” framing did not change that assessment, and the ASA noted such content would only be acceptable where, for all intents and purposes, under‑18s were entirely excluded from the audience by robust age verification. In this case, the ASA considered that the audience controls of the social media platform were insufficient to exclude under-18s, given the significant proportion of young people recorded to have registered according to Ofcom data.
On that basis, the ad breached CAP Code rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12 and must not appear again.
Comment
This ruling serves as a further reminder to operators that the ASA takes a strict approach to the “strong appeal” rules, particularly where high-profile sports personalities are featured in marketing content. The decision highlights that even content framed as humour or intended for editorial engagement on social media can fall within the scope of the advertising rules if it references gambling or betting activity. Operators should be aware that the use of elite footballers or other figures with significant youth appeal are likely to be considered non-compliant unless robust measures are in place to ensure under-18s are entirely excluded from the audience, something that is rarely achievable on mainstream social media platforms.
