Midnite has received another caution from the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for a promotional post on social media that featured former Tottenham captain Son Heung-Min.
The independent regulator warned Midnite that it had breached rules in place to protect under-18s from being exposed to gambling content and ordered that the post should be deleted.
It is the second time in three months that Midnite has fallen foul of the ASA.
In September it was found guilty of a similar complaint after using an AI-generated football ad featuring Trent Alexander-Arnold on social media, mocking up the player’s goodbye speech to his Liverpool team-mates before a summer transfer move to Real Madrid.
What Was Midnite’s Tweet?
The offending post appeared on X, formerly Twitter, on May 23 along with a video of Son celebrating with the Europa League trophy following Tottenham’s 1-0 win in the final over Manchester United.
Alongside the video was the caption: “How bro starts acting after winning £8.10 from a 30p 8 fold acca bet.”
The complaint was lodged by a researcher from the University of Bristol, an educational institution that is the home of the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research.
Details were published under an ASA ruling on Dribble Media Ltd, which trades as Midnite, together with the firm’s response.
Midnite acknowledged that Son was highly likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s, which was the key element of the complaint.
In its defence, it claimed the post was editorial in nature and published as a piece of topical football humour, with no direct link to any gambling-related product.
It also confirmed that the post and video were deleted as soon as the ASA had raised the issue and that the company has revised its marketing policy to ensure all future social media content is compliant with the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code.
ASA’s Considerations
The ASA’s assessment concluded that although the post appeared in a non-paid-for space it was under Midnite’s control, it was based around a high-profile football match and referred to a type of betting, in this case an accumulator.
It also mentioned winning money on a bet with Midnite known to be a company that offered bets on football matches and that the purpose of the video was to promote the gambling brand.
The ASA cited various Ofcom reports with sufficient evidence to suggest there had been “at least a significant number of children who had not used their real date of birth when signing up to X and were able to see and access content intended for those aged 18 or older, meaning they could view content from verified gambling accounts.”
It concluded further that Son was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s as he was well known to Tottenham fans and followers of the Premier League and was regarded as a ‘star’ player.
As such, the ad was irresponsible and breached the CAP Code, with Dribble Media being told that it should not appear again and reminding the firm not to include a person or character who had strong appeal to under-18s in future.
Midnite’s Football Connections
Midnite’s X account is very much football related and landed the company in hot water with its Trent Alexander-Arnold tweet which first appeared on May 25.
The spoof video was titled ‘Trent Alexander-Arnold’s farewell speech to the Liverpool players’ and featured the Midnite logo with a caption ‘ai-generated parody’.
Although Midnite deleted the post when ordered, it can still be traced on YouTube and other social media outlets having been captured and posted as humour by individual users.
Midnite has established some strong connections in English football this season, as principal partner of Sheffield United and as Southampton’s official training kit partner.
Among various initiatives with the two championship clubs, Midnite teamed up with Southampton fans to create a tifo for the derby with Portsmouth.
In September, the sportsbook funded coach travel for Southampton fans aged 25 and over from the south coast up to Sheffield United’s home at Bramall Lane for their League clash in September.
