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The UK Advertising Standards Agency has told BetUK, owned by LeoVegas, not to repeat a commercial featuring former footballer Adebayo Akinfenwa due to its appeal for under-18s.
Akinfenwa stated in the radio advertisement for the operator, September 2023, that he was the brand ambassador of the company. He promoted BetUK’s responsible gambling tools, including deposit limits and reality checks.
The ASA conducted an investigation into the ad based on a complaint that Akinfenwa could appeal to those under 18. BetUK was then ordered not to run the ad again.
BetUK argued that Akinfenwa, who is 41 years old, has never played in Premier League and therefore his appeal to those under 18 was “low risk.”
The ASA, referring back to the B/CAP guidelines, stated that Akinfenwa’s social media and personal profiles were “likely” appealing to those under 18.
The ASA’s ruling stated that “the B/CAP guidance classified footballers in lower league and nonleague clubs as a ‘low-risk’ group, but that footballers outside of the top flight could also be a’moderate-risk’ group based on their social media and other media profiles.”
Akinfenwa initially rose to fame through the FIFA series of video games, where he was highlighted by YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI for his in-game strength attribute.
The UK advertising watchdog stated that “While we accepted BetUK’s opinion that Mr Akinfenwa’s clothing line, BeastModeOn had broad appeal and wasn’t targeted at children,” we thought the way he was portrayed and marketed in the media would have caused some football fans in the UK to see him as a hero of the game.
We therefore considered his media profile and our opinion that he was unusually known for an ex-lower league footballer would have placed him into the “moderate risk” category of the advice.
BetUK argued, too, that only 8 percent of Akinfenwa’s Instagram followers were under-18s. The radio advertisement was also played during an episode that was more likely to be viewed by adults.
The operator also added that 13% his Snapchat followers are under 18.
In its ruling, the ASA noted that Akinfenwa “had at minimum 157,000 followers under 18.”
The watchdog said that the real number is likely to be higher because follower data from Facebook, X(formerly Twitter), and TikTok are not available.
The ASA concluded that, despite his career in a lower-league footballer, and his media profile alone, he would have been placed in the moderate risk’ section. However, because he has a large number of followers on social media who are under 18 due to his profile and career, Mr Akinfenwa was placed in the high risk’ section and would likely be appealing to those under 18.
