ASA Bans Lewis Hamilton Ad - Betway Warned About Conduct Again

Betway has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) for running a social media campaign featuring F1 driver Sir Lewis Hamilton. The post, a paid-for Facebook ad, was released in July this year, portraying three F1 drivers in a grandstand watching a race.

Filmed from behind, the campaign carried the Betway logo, and one of the drivers wore a red uniform with ‘Hamilton’ sketched on the back. A heading read: ‘Who’s the best of the Brits’, while the other drivers were unnamed.

ASA pulls the brakes

A complaint was lodged with the ASA voicing its concern the ad had violated the Committee of Advertising (CAP) code. The ASA referenced in its verdict, that as of 1 October 2022, the CAP code stipulated that marketing communications for gambling products must not be of strong appeal to children or young persons.

The ASA upheld the complaint, indicating that Hamilton carries a strong appeal to young people and is a role model. Although the ASA acknowledged Betway tried to limit Hamilton’s visibility, minors would still recognise the seven-time world champion, and the ad can’t appear again in its current form.

Moreover, ASA expressed reservations over Facebook’s age-verification system. The platform relies on users to self-verify their ages when creating an account, and Under-18s could claim they were over 18 when registering. Research carried out by Ofcom showed that more than half of 16 and 17-year-olds use Facebook, while many younger children maintain accounts despite age restrictions.

What was Betway’s response?

In response, Betway didn’t dispute that Hamilton would be of appeal to a younger audience. They acknowledged that the image was meant to represent Hamilton, but claimed it wasn’t actually an image of him. They suggested that Hamilton’s involvement in the ad was minimal, but they were hoping to ‘broaden the conversation about the British GP’.

To support its rationale, Betway noted that Hamilton has 6.3 million fans on Facebook and 8.5 million Instagram followers. The betting company pointed to the fact that the ad was run for a limited time and there were control settings which sought to target users aged 25 or over.

In a statement, Betway’s parent company, Super Group, said:

“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.

“This particular video intended for an adult audience was subject to the same thorough checks. We would never knowingly produce or release content that breaches those rules.”

Betway falls foul of the rules again

It’s not the first time that Betway have been warned over their conduct. A pre-roll placement in May 2025 on YouTube showed football fans wearing Chelsea scarves, and the ASA upheld a complaint filed.

Although Chelsea argued that the ad didn’t contain actual play, and that the clothing choices were incidental, the ASA didn’t share the same view. Betway was informed the ad must not appear again in its current form.

Navigating a clear path

There has been a raft of ASA rulings over the past couple of months, and steering clear of using Hamilton for ads may be an appropriate strategy. Kwiff learned that when it was pulled up for an F1 post in July 2024 on its X account.

Betway needs to navigate a clear path, even though marketing has become more complicated for operators. The F1 season, meanwhile, draws to a close this weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.