Kwiff's Lewis Hamilton ad banned — the ASA said F1's star appeals to children

On 14 July 2024 Kwiff's X account posted ahead of the British Grand Prix: 'A potentially huge weekend for Sir Lewis Hamilton ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone #F1', with an image of Hamilton, an 18+ symbol and the BeGambleAware.org logo, linking to a Kwiff article on the race. A researcher from the University of Bristol complained that the ad featured someone likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s.

The ASA worked through the numbers. Hamilton's Instagram had 37.5 million followers, roughly 4% of them (about 1.5 million) under 18 worldwide, and 10.13% of followers were UK-registered — an estimated 150,000 UK-based under-18 followers on Instagram alone. He also appeared in the F1 24 video game (rated 3+), had children's-size merchandise and Funko POP! figures, and read a CBeebies Bedtime Story on 3 July 2024.

Kwiff argued that motorsport was 'more adult-oriented', that its own X account had 11,700 followers with 0% aged 13-17, that the post was editorial commentary linking to a blog rather than a gambling page, and that Nielsen data put the median F1 fan at 32. The ASA upheld the complaint on 22 October 2025: the ad breached CAP Code rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12, and must not appear again.

The ruling landed alongside the ASA's ban of Betway's Chelsea ad, part of a wider clampdown on celebrity appeal in gambling marketing. Kwiff said afterwards that it had reviewed its social media and removed content featuring mainstream sportspeople.