ASA Bans Astrid Wett X Ad Promoting Cheltenham Free Bets Site

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom has criticized an ad appearing on the X (formerly Twitter) feed of social media influencer Astrid Wett. The ad, tweeted on March 12, was for a website called festivalfreebets.com, which contains links to gambling sites. In its May 15 ruling, the ASA stated that the ad must not appear again in its current form.

What Was the Ad About?

The ASA said the ad that was the subject of the complaint “featured an image of Astrid Wett at Cheltenham racecourse” and was “seen on 12 March 2024.” Wett actually tweeted a number of times from Cheltenham on March 12. Her messages from that day indeed featured a number that were ads for Festival Free Bets and others that showed images or videos of Astrid at Cheltenham.

However, there's only one single tweet by Wett from March 12 that contained an ad for FestivalFreeBets.com and a still image of Astrid as opposed to a moving video. We have reproduced this tweet below:

More About FestivalFreeBets.com

Festivalfreebets.com was a website that contained information about various offers from bookmakers and buttons urging readers to claim these specials by signing up through affiliate links:

FestivalFreeBets.com

Prominent among the deals listed at festivalfreebets were offers that pertained specifically to horse racing along with available free bets. There was language on the homepage referring to the Cheltenham Festival, one of the top annual racing meets in the United Kingdom.

You'll notice that we're using the past tense when talking about this site. This is because it appears to be currently broken. Visitors to festivalfreebets.com now see a lengthy error message like the following:

What Visitors Now See When They Go to festivalfreebets.com

More About Astrid Wett

Astrid Wett is a 23-year-old Briton who was born in Portsmouth. She is a popular social media influencer with accounts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and OnlyFans. Her TikTok account (@astridwett) has more than 1.6 million followers.

A Photograph Posted on Astrid Wett's X Account

Besides salacious photos, like the one above, Astrid's output consists largely of sports-related content. She's an avid boxer and devoted fan of soccer club Chelsea F.C.

What's Wrong With the Ad?

At first glance, it may appear that everything is legit with this ad. Wett, who is above the age of 18, reminded readers, “18+ gamble responsibly.” She used the hastag “#ad,” clearly indicating that this was an advertisement. She didn't make any unwarranted promises, merely advising that the reader could get “up to £250” in free bets, which is pretty cautious phrasing.

Festival Free Bets, for its part, was promoting legitimate deals at respected racebooks. The companies affiliated with the site are duly licensed by the U.K. Gambling Commission.

We have to look at what the ASA said in its ruling to find out what was wrong with this situation:

The image of Astrid Wett was the central focus of the ad and we considered that she therefore played a significant role in it. We understood she was 23 years old at the time the ad was published.

Because the ad was for a service that was intended to facilitate gambling and featured someone who was aged under 25 playing a significant role, we concluded that it was irresponsible.

Because Astrid Wett was below the age of 25, the ASA held that she should not have played a significant role in any gambling ad.

Wett Pleads Ignorance

In her response to the complaint, Astrid indicated that she supported social responsibility measures in the field of gambling. She just was unaware of any age restrictions attached to appearing in gambling ads beyond needing to be above the age of 18. She apologized for breaking the rules and pledged to comply with all applicable regulations going forward.

Ordinarily, we don't believe that pleading ignorance of the law is a valid defence. However, we're prepared to make an exception in this case.

ASA Refers to Unknown Rules

The ASA referenced rule 1.3 of the CAP Code (Edition 12), which is fortunately freely available on the ASA's own website. Let's take a look at what it says:

CAP 1.3

Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.

That it. That's the entire rule. There's nothing there about needing to be above 25. There are no footnotes referring to expansions or further interpretations of this rule. There are no links visible on this page with examples of what constitutes an irresponsible marketing communication.

We were left baffled and confused as to how the ASA could have expected Astrid Witt to comply with advertising restrictions that don't seem to be unambiguously stated anywhere. However, we soon uncovered the following text in CAP Code 17.4.6:

Advertisements for gambling must not:

feature anyone who is, or seems to be, under 25 years old gambling or playing a significant role. No-one may behave in an adolescent, juvenile or loutish way.

This seems to be a more sensible reason for why Astrid's ad was deemed unacceptable although we're at a loss to explain how merely being present at a place where gambling is happening counts as “playing a significant role.” Anyway, how can the ASA fault her for not knowing about this rule when the agency itself appears confused about parts of its own code?

Silence From Festival Free Bets

Whereas Astrid Wett responded when the ASA contacted her, Festival Free Bets did not. Therefore, the ASA stated that the company was in violation of CAP Code 1.7, which explains that an “unreasonable delay” in responding to the ASA's inquiries is itself a breach of the code.

The ASA ordered Festival Free Bets to respond promptly to enquiries from the agency going forward. However, it's looking likely that Festival Free Bets is no more. It doesn't have a lengthy history in the industry, seemingly only popping up to capture Cheltenham Festival-related web search traffic, and it now displays a broken homepage.

ASA Ruling Extremely Punitive

It looks like the ASA is overreaching its legitimate authority in barring the ad in question. Astrid wasn't gambling or even appearing to gamble in the photograph shown. She wasn't below 18 and didn't appear below 18. Festival Free Bets wasn't even a gambling firm but rather a site that provided information about gambling services. Therefore, it's hard to see what tangible harm could have befallen any of the ill-fated X visitors unlucky enough to have seen the ad.

We're also wondering if this under-25 guideline constitutes a form of age discrimination against social media personalities between the ages of 18 and 25. It's difficult, especially for newcomers, to establish solid revenue streams from social media, and gambling sponsorship is one way of making it easier. By prohibiting those from 18 to 25 from accepting gambling sponsorships, the ASA is favouring older, more well-established social media mavens at the expense of their younger competitors.

Others may counter that young influencers are perfectly welcome to sponsor gaming brands under the terms specified by the ASA as long as they take care to not appear in front of the camera themselves. This line of reasoning, however, is out of step with the reality that social media personalities seek to project a relatable and accessible persona to their fans and thus cannot remain hidden behind the scenes if they wish to succeed.

History of Overreach

We've been watching the antics of the ASA for some time and have long felt that this body can be excessively zealous when it comes to its anti-gambling stance.

For instance, in April 2018, it forced PokerStars to pull an ad in which a narrator encouraged the viewer to go all-in on a bluff in an imaginary hand. The ASA said that this ad spot encouraged reckless gambling.

The following month, online casino m88 was found negligent in protecting children from the dangers of gambling. This was because the operator hosted demo mode, i.e., play-for-free, slots on its website that had images from fairy tales, which were deemed to “be of particular appeal” to youngsters.

Then in March 2019, a William Hill ad on Tinder was deemed to violate a rule against linking “gambling to seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness.” This is because the ad stated that one could avoid being “stuck in the friend zone” with a series of Cheltenham free bets. (What is it about the Cheltenham Festival and free bets?)

UK a Tough Climate for Gaming Operators

The ASA is just one of the agencies cracking the whip in the U.K. online gaming industry. There are others, like the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, which has the power of levying fines. For example, in April 2020, the UKGC fined Caesars Entertainment £13 million ($16 million), and in March 2023, William Hill had to fork over a £19.2 million ($23.7 million) penalty.

These fines were issued as a result of social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings. Both companies allowed players to wager massive sums without checking for source of funds or intervening to stop problem gambling.

Between anti-money laundering regulations, social responsibility obligations, advertising restrictions, and the other rules enforced in the United Kingdom, the country is becoming an ever-tougher environment in which to conduct business.

There's an growing list of gambling enterprises that have elected to exit the U.K. market. Just within the past five years, Betsafe, tonybet, Mr. Green, and Mansion Bet have shuttered the U.K.-facing portions of their businesses. Many firms have cited the increased cost of complying with regulations as an impetus for taking this drastic step.

Reputable Offshore Gaming Sites Bypass the ASA

Fortunately, there's one group of internet gambling providers that's unlikely to be driven out by anything the ASA or UKGC do. Offshore poker, casino, and sportsbook brands don't have to comply with the demands of these meddlesome groups, and they instead adhere to international norms and common practice.

One of the leading offshore gaming brands that's active in the United Kingdom is TigerGaming. It lets you bet on sports, partake in casino games, such as roulette and blackjack, and play in a peer-to-peer poker room. When you sign up you can get a $1,000 bonus for the poker room. Click below to get started:

If you'd like to learn more about the site before signing up, check out this detailed TigerGaming review.