Ladbrokes' tweets advertising its online gambling products have been banned by the Advertsiing Standards Authority in the UK.
The company is the first to fall foul of a new regulation introduced in October to protect children from advertising advertisements.
The ads featured well-known footballers, but the ASA decided that the ads would appeal to under-18s. They were distributed in October via Twitter and after an investigation the ASA decided that they represented a high risk within the regulations’ guidance.
Ladbrokes said that the tweet was no more than "brand engagement" rather than an advertisement and it questioned Twitter’s over-18 user policy, claiming that the feed could not be reached by children.
