ASA Expands CAP Code to Enforce Gambling Ad Rules on Offshore Operators

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has introduced a major change to its regulatory framework, bringing offshore gambling operators into the same scope of advertising rules as UK-based companies.

From 1 September 2025, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code now applies to non-paid-for online marketing communications targeted at UK consumers by any licensed gambling operator, even if that operator does not hold a UK-registered company address.

The change closes a long-standing loophole that had allowed many of the industry’s largest operators – often registered in Gibraltar or Malta – to bypass certain restrictions on marketing through unpaid social media posts and other online content.

The CAP Code, which governs non-broadcast advertising and promotional marketing, has until now only covered unpaid marketing communications from companies with a UK-registered address, content on “.uk” domains, and all paid-for communications aimed at UK consumers.

With the extension [], social media posts and other direct marketing by gambling operators licensed by the Gambling Commission will now fall squarely under the ASA’s oversight. This applies to platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X, where UK-facing campaigns frequently reach millions of users.

In its regulatory statement, CAP explained: “This will bring into scope social media marketing communications targeted at UK consumers, posted by licensed gambling operators on their own social media channels, even if the operators do not have a UK-registered company address.”

The ASA stressed that the amendment ensures consistency in regulation and strengthens consumer protection by holding all UK-licensed operators to the same advertising standards.

Although the new rules are already in force, CAP has invited feedback from stakeholders. A three-month consultation will run until 1 December 2025, after which a formal review of the extension will be carried out. CAP has stated that the amendment is narrowly tailored to gambling advertising and does not, at this stage, extend to other sectors where companies lack a UK-registered address.

The Gambling Commission’s licensing conditions already require operators to comply with the CAP and BCAP Codes, and the ASA Council will now be able to enforce rulings against offshore operators in a consistent way.

The change has been welcomed by academics and campaigners who had long argued that the previous framework left consumers exposed. Dr Raffaello Rossi, senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Bristol, described the move as “an important, though long overdue” step for consumer protection.

Rossi said on LinkedIn: “We highlighted this massive loophole – that gambling brands could simply move their registered office abroad and thereby completely bypass UK social media advertising regulations – in several letters and meetings with the ASA over the past two years.” He noted that companies such as Paddy Power, Bet365, and Ladbrokes had benefited from the gap, despite holding UK gambling licences.

His comments were echoed by the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research and other reform advocates, who had lobbied for the loophole to be addressed.

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The ASA’s decision forms part of a wider effort to strengthen gambling advertising standards following the UK Gambling Review. In recent years, CAP and ASA have prohibited the use of athletes, celebrities, and influencers in gambling ads to reduce youth appeal and have tightened rules requiring age filters to ensure that adverts only target audiences aged 21 and above.

The latest amendment continues this trajectory, focusing on unpaid content that has increasingly become a primary channel for operators to connect with players. The ASA emphasized that the amendment is consistent with better regulation principles, ensuring clarity and uniform application of standards across all UK-licensed operators.

By closing the gap, regulators aim to eliminate regulatory arbitrage and bring advertising activity in line with the responsibilities that come with a UK gambling licence.

Source: 

, asa.org.uk, September 1, 2025