UK’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Could Reduce Confusion for Operators

The UK is planning to introduce a social media ban for under-16s, with further restrictions for people aged 16-17, which could make the advertising landscape significantly clearer for operators.

A model similar to the one implemented in Australia is scheduled to be enforced by the spring of 2027, and will include a ban for children on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook and X. The full list of banned platforms will be released at a later date.

Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal will not be included in the ban. Under-16s will not be allowed to livestream and strangers will not be able to contact under-16s on other online services like gaming.

There will be a restriction on high-risk functions of livestreaming and chat with strangers which will be turned on by default for under-17s, and the government is also looking into overnight social media curfews for under-18s.

How does this affect the gambling sector?

The proposed ban should not have any direct impact on gambling advertising on social media, as operators are already not permitted to advertise in a way that could appeal to people under the legal gambling age of 18. However, this could lead to less confusion when it comes to whether operators are crossing that line.

There have been various instances where complaints have been made against operators for social media adverts which were seen by children and could likely be of appeal to children.

Three examples of this occurred last October, when ads placed on social media by Betway, Kwiff and Sky Bet were all banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ads in question

Betway’s ad appeared on YouTube in May 2025, which featured football fans wearing clothing and scarves showing the logo of English Premier League football club Chelsea. The complainant challenged whether the use of Chelsea’s logo meant the ad would likely be of strong appeal to under-18s.

Meanwhile, Kwiff was pulled up for a post on its X account in July 2024. The featured text stated:

“A potentially huge weekend for Sir Lewis Hamilton ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone [race car emoji] #F1.”

The complainant successfully challenged whether the ad included an individual who was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s.

In the case of Sky Bet, the ad showed a promoted post on Twitter (which has since changed its name to X), containing an embedded video clip from The Overlap football podcast. The clip showed a discussion about football and intermittently featured the Sky Bet logo. The ASA deemed football pundit Gary Neville, who appeared in the video, classed as being at moderate risk of strong appeal to under-18s.

Clearer picture

With a social media ban on under-16s, should any similar cases arise in future, operators can point to the fact under-16s are not permitted to be on those platforms. Should a curfew be brought in for people aged 16-17, then operators could avoid confusion by only posting ads after a certain time.

The move could be interpreted as a bold attempt to try and hang on to the position of Prime Minister by Sir Keir Starmer. Starmer could potentially be facing a leadership challenge, following the recent resignations of Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Defence Secretary John Healey. Andy Burnham is expected to mount a leadership challenge if he wins a by-election in Makerfield this Thursday.