The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is reportedly looking into the Australian gambling company Stake, after it appeared that their logo had been digitally added to several viral images that feature disturbing content. The investigation kicked off after concerns surfaced that Stake might be behind some unauthorized ad campaigns, which could potentially break existing gambling regulations.
why is there a stake logo on almost every video I see?
— STOCKZ 📈🐋 (@investinStockz) January 12, 2025
In 2022, the company became the Everton football club’s official sponsor, with its name appearing on both the men’s and women’s shirts. However, the club was criticized at the time for its partnership, with some gambling campaigners calling the move “tone deaf.”
James Grimes from The Big Step, a group dedicated to putting an end to all gambling ads and sponsorships in football, told BBC Sport at the time: “Gambling sponsorship is unpopular, unhealthy and strongly rumoured to be on its way out of football. So for Everton to announce this partnership now is massively tone deaf.”
Since then, Stake has faced accusations of teaming up with accounts on X to promote its brand through unofficial ad campaigns that seem to go against gambling regulations. While most of these posts come from outside the UK, they’re still easily accessible to people in the country. The ASA’s job is to make sure gambling ads are socially responsible, especially when it comes to protecting children.
Stake logo appears on various posts
According to the website Know Your Meme, Stake has reportedly been teaming up with different accounts to slap its logo onto unrelated memes, videos, and clips. The campaign apparently kicked off in August 2024 with the X account @FearedBuck, including the company’s logo on various posts, even involving big-name streamers like Kai Cenat and Adin Ross.
Despite catching some heat and even breaking community guidelines, these posts have kept making the rounds without any warnings or takedowns. However, it has now drawn the attention of the ASA, who told the Guardian it was assessing the posts to see “whether there are grounds for further action.”
The organization mentioned that it’s looking into “jurisdiction” issues regarding the posts and whether the complaints should be passed on to the Gambling Commission. The commission is responsible for handling any violations of the advertising rules when it comes to gambling.
It’s still not entirely clear how widespread this trend is or just how involved Stake really is.
ReadWrite has approached the ASA and Stake for comment.
Featured image: Canva / MattGrünewald vis WikiCommons
