English Sports Celebrity in Hot Water over Crypto Casino Tweet

online casinos have always been quick to adopt new technologies where they hold great value propositions. In the case of the blockchain, this has resulted in the development of bitcoin casinos where players can deposit, wager, win and withdraw using cryptocurrencies instead of fiat currencies.

Despite the proactive adoption of crypto tokens and the blockchain by the online gambling industry, the United Kingdom remains wary of the platform and coins due to money laundering concerns.

 ASA Says No to Crypto Tweets

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently took former English football star Michael Owen to task over two tweets promoting illegal crypto casino gambling.

In an interview with iGB, the ASA spokesperson said:

“In this specific case, we proactively and informally contacted Michael Owen and the parties involved with a view to him removing the ad. We did not receive a response, but we note that the tweet was removed after contact was made.”

The Tweets in question are no longer available on the social media platform. Still, the ASA did confirm that they promoted a crypto casino to Owen's predominantly British following, even though the casino does not hold a UK license.

The tweets appear to have announced Owen signing as the cryptocurrency-based online casinos' latest brand ambassador.

Owen has also been an outspoken evangelist for NFTs. When questioned about whether the ASA was looking into the English celeb's tweets promoting his upcoming NFT collection and his assertion that they "will never lose value".

The ASA said:

“We are not currently investigating any complaints about ads for NFTs. Instead, we are carrying out a wide-ranging review of the issues surrounding NFT advertising, which will lead to action to address any potential problems we identify in the round."

Depending on the ASA's determination of the link between NFT and crypto gambling, this could see a slew of similar social media removal requests sent to Owen and several other British public figures.

 Is Crypto Gambling Legal in the UK?

Despite the depth of the UK’s gambling legislation, it has not made provision for emerging technologies such as the blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Instead, crypto-gambling is currently a grey area in the region. While it is not illegal, the Gambling Commission has yet to allocate a license to a crypto-focused casino.

The Commission’s website contains the following “warning” for would-be crypto-funded operators:

“If you are considering using crypto-assets to fund a gambling business, we recommend that unless you are able to provide a full and complete history of SoF [source of funds] with your application, do not submit as we will not consider Operating Licence applications with a crypto funding element without this evidence provided in full at application stage.”

When considering licensing a crypto-funded or crypto-focused online casino, the primary concern is the difficulty of proving that the funds are not sourced from criminal activities. There are also addition concerns around scalability, value fluctuations, the cost of fees and determining the security of the funds being held by the casino.

Until applicants can adequately address the Commission's concerns, it is doubtful that we will see the UKGC endorse a cryptocurrency casino soon.