Entain has published research highlighting the scale of illegal gambling advertising embedded within social media content consumed by young users in the United Kingdom.
According to the findings, a coordinated network involving offshore operators, football celebrities, influencers, and gaming platforms is mass-promoting unregulated products to UK audiences. The intensity of this activity increases significantly with the start of the World Cup.
The report, based on open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis conducted in May 2026, identified more than 30 unlicensed gambling websites targeting UK users, including a number of well-known crypto casinos.
Bejay Patel, Managing Director of Entain UK and Ireland, said: “As the Men’s World Cup is underway, this research is a wake-up call to government, regulators and law enforcement agencies that illegal gambling promotion is not operating at the fringes but is now operating at scale in the UK with coordinated networks primed to target millions of UK fans during the tournament.
“It also raises serious questions about whether regulators and enforcement agencies have the powers and resources needed to tackle the highly coordinated illegal gambling promotion effectively, particularly across global social media platforms.”
Researchers recorded 72 instances of promotion across 44 influencer, clipper and tipster accounts spanning seven major platforms.
The findings suggest that illegal gambling is no longer something consumers actively seek out — it has become a constantly present element embedded in the everyday social media content consumed by young men aged 14 to 25, particularly through football, gaming, viral short-form videos and so-called “manosphere” content.
Illegal Advertising Featuring High-Profile Influencers
The research identified global football stars, including Sergio Agüero, Eden Hazard, and Iker Casillas, acting as ambassadors for offshore gambling brands, giving these operators access to audiences of tens of millions.
At least 12 football fan and tipster accounts covering clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United were found posting identical betting tips at the same time. Researchers concluded this was a coordinated affiliate campaign, with most accounts failing to disclose any commercial relationship.
Promotion was identified across Kick, Instagram, X, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitch.
Around 20% of TikTok’s UK audience is estimated to be under 18. Kick was identified as a key hub in the illegal gambling influencer ecosystem, hosting a dedicated gambling category with minimal age verification and serving as a launchpad for content distributed across other platforms via referral codes, affiliate links, and gamified incentives.
Researchers also uncovered a network of AI-generated YouTube accounts showing UK users how to bypass gambling restrictions, along with services offering VPN access and identity verification workarounds.
Age verification and consumer protection measures were found to be weak, inconsistent, or easily circumvented across all examined platforms, with at least one operator requiring no age verification at account creation.
Entain warned that the World Cup represents a significant short-term risk, as the existing promotional infrastructure is already in place and ready to scale as the tournament progresses.
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