From the Guardian · · 2m
The fake Tesco casino nobody stopped
Unlicensed casinos are borrowing Tesco, Barclays and Bellingham's face to look legitimate, and the ads keep running.
In brief
Unlicensed casinos are borrowing Tesco, Barclays and Bellingham's face to look legitimate, and the ads keep running. A familiar logo on a gambling ad proves nothing. Unlicensed operators borrow trusted brands precisely because the trust is not theirs, and check the Gambling Commission register before you deposit…
Tesco calls the police
Tesco referred its concerns to City of London police and the National Cyber Security Centre after its branding turned up on a fake casino advertised through Facebook and Instagram.
Borrowed trust is the product
Casinos that cannot legally operate in Britain are dressing themselves in household names. The recognition does the selling, so no real endorsement is needed.
“gave the false impression that the businesses had launched their own casinos”
Athletes hijacked too
Lewis Hamilton, Tyson Fury, Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes have all had their faces used without consent. One site ran a Haaland lookalike in a Norway shirt as a croupier.
The Tesco Extra pitch
The site, still reachable in the UK, calls itself "the official Tesco casino" and leans on 107 years of trading since 1919. It holds no British gambling licence.
“laid out as clearly as the aisles at a Tesco Extra”
Barclays and Monzo next
A "Barclays Slots" ad used an AI-generated woman pulling her trousers down. Monzo called it criminals exploiting a much-loved brand to trick people.
“an AI-enabled scam where criminals take advantage of our much-loved brand”
Meta points elsewhere
Meta pulled the ads only after the Guardian asked about them, and takes the view that advertisers, not its platforms, must comply with local rules.
Fury films a denial
The boxer recorded a video for his Instagram followers disavowing the casino using his name, saying he had turned down millions from gambling firms and would never promote them.
Licensed firms losing out
Entain, which owns Coral and Gala Bingo, says impostors exploit consumers and pay no tax while platforms profit from hosting the ads. It wants Ofcom to get tougher.
“Ofcom needs to take a harder line on the companies facilitating this activity”
Regulators short on teeth
The Gambling Commission cannot police trademark abuse, that sits with the ASA. New powers from the crime and policing bill arrive in autumn to help it pull down rogue sites.
“a particularly cynical version of it”
Curacao and dead ends
Many of these sites claim licences in Curacao or Anjouan, so serving UK customers is illegal. The Tyson Fury casino's contact page led to two words: "Silence is golden."
“Silence is golden”
The short version
A familiar logo on a gambling ad proves nothing. Unlicensed operators borrow trusted brands precisely because the trust is not theirs, and check the Gambling Commission register before you deposit.
