The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has stated it will “keep a watching brief” on the increasing number of images on X displaying a ‘Stake’ watermark, an online sportsbook and casino.
Insider Sport has observed that the ‘Football Twitter’ community has been particularly affected by the surge of Stake’s logo surfacing on a wide range of unexpected posts. These range from vintage photos of the Manchester United team to images of former manager José Mourinho and beyond.
According to the website Know Your Meme, Stake has engaged with various accounts to overlay its logo on unrelated memes, videos and clips. This campaign started in August 2024 with the X account @FearedBuck, which featured the company’s logo on content, involving popular streamers like Kai Cenat and Adin Ross.
Despite facing criticism and breaching community guidelines, the posts have continued to circulate without facing any warning or action. It now seems some users have embraced the campaign, even adding the Stake watermark to images without being paid.
This trend has also drawn the attention of the ASA, the UK’s independent regulator for advertising across all media. One of its key aims is to reduce children’s exposure to age-restricted ads, which includes gambling.
In the past, the ASA has acted against Sky Bet for gambling promotions that could strongly appeal to under-18s. The tweet under scrutiny in this case came from former footballer-turned-broadcaster Gary Neville’s profile, featuring a video clip from The Overlap football podcast where he discussed potential Premier League winners.
A Stake masterclass or disasterclass in advertising?
Stake is no stranger to innovative marketing strategies, having previously secured the title sponsorship of Sauber Motorsport. The company has also utilised high-profile influencers to boost its brand, including former footballer Sergio Agüero, UFC Champion Alex Pereira, and music star Drake.
However, this campaign may land Stake in hot water. In examining the ongoing situation, it’s essential to consider the UK Ad Codes. Particularly, these codes emphasise that marketing communications for gambling must not be likely to be of particular appeal to under-18s, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture.
This raises concerns over the potential influence on younger audiences, as Stake’s branding is now appearing across a wide range of social media posts. Many of the accounts involved likely cater to younger followers, amplifying the issue.
At this moment, an ASA spokesperson stated that it’s not immediately clear that some examples in this situation are a potential problem under the gambling advertising rules.
However, given that this issue is in its infancy, the ASA has said that “without going through our processes, we obviously can’t be definitive on that.”
“There appear to be some jurisdictional points that we’d have to consider and/or if there are elements that we might, where appropriate, refer to the Gambling Commission,” a spokesperson continued.
“We think it is a legitimate regulatory objective to seek to minimise children’s exposure to age-restricted ads generally and therefore we want to see gambling advertisers use available tools to more effectively target their ads away from children, even where the vast majority of an audience is over 18.
“We will add these examples to our intelligence gathering and we will keep a watching brief here.”
This situation has also raised the issue of copyright infringement. Graphic designers have voiced complaints about their work being used without permission, as people add the Stake watermark to their content to earn revenue.
Football journalist Fabrizio Romano has already issued a warning to an account that used his face and interview with ‘Rising Ballers’ without authorisation. Romano tweeted: “Did you ask for permission? Or did you try to attack me and generate impressions for your own AD, not even mentioning it was an AD and not asking for permission?”
Where does the responsibility lie?
Social media is often seen as a modern-day Wild West, where anything goes and accountability is elusive. A major factor contributing to this is the platforms’ Terms of Service (TOS) – or lack thereof.
However, some posts participating in this situation have been flagged by X’s community notes, which allow users to fact-check and correct posts.
One community note wrote: “This tweet also contains a hidden ad for Stake, which is against the TOS for being an undisclosed ad for a gambling service, which is prohibited on the site.”
Despite other X users calling these profiles out, there does not appear to be any real punishment or investigation ongoing by X.
Insider Sport has approached Stake and is awaiting comment.
