The UK’s advertising watchdog said the Instagram posts from Oddschecker featuring Kane and Haaland were ‘irresponsible’.
Instagram ads for sportsbook Oddschecker featuring footballers Harry Kane and Erling Haaland have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The advertising watchdog called two ads posted by the online betting platform as “irresponsible” for breaching its code because Kane and Haaland have a “strong appeal to under-18s”.
The two ads in question were first posted in November 2025 on oddscheckertv’s Instagram account. The first featured an image of the England captain with the caption: “Harry Kane is the most backed player to win the Ballon d’Or in 2026 (32% of bets) [trophy emoji].”
The second featured an image of Norway and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland with text reading: “Norway are the most backed to win 2026 WC [World Cup].”
A caption then stated: “In the last 24 hours, Norway to win the 2026 World Cup is the most backed bet placed through oddschecker. […] Their price has shortened to a general 50/1 but there is still 80/1 available with a couple of bookmakers… [eyes emoji].”
Oddschecker said the posts were “primarily editorial in nature, rather than ads” and had set the minimum age of the account to 18-years, which was also clearly stated in the bio.
While the ASA acknowledged the posts appeared in “non-paid-for space online”, they were still promoting the placing of a bet with a bookmaker through Oddschecker and were therefore ads and fell within the scope of the CAP Code.
Under the code, marketing communications for gambling products must not be likely to appeal to children or young persons. ASA believed the inclusion of Kane and Haaland in the posts were “high risk of strong appeal to under-18s” and therefore breached the code.
The rulings come a week after Ofcom released its report outlining failings from social media platforms in protecting children and implementing adequate safeguards.
