Former Premier League star Michael Owen falls foul of UK gambling advertising laws

Former Premier League footballer Michael Owen has been instructed to take down tweets that promoted a non-licensed cryptocurrency casino to the UK public. Owen was found to have broken UK gambling advertising law as a representative of Punt Casino. In May 2022, Owen was announced as the brand ambassador for Curaçao-based cryptocurrency casino, Punt Casino. On 16 May, the former Liverpool forward published two tweets advertising the firm and, at the time his ambassadorial role was announced, he said: “I’m a strong believer in the power of crypto, so teaming up with an innovative platform like Punt Casino feels like a natural fit.” Punt Casino is fully licensed in Curaçao but does not hold a UK licence. Punt Casino accepts payments in multiple forms of cryptocurrency, including bitcoin and ethereum. Under UK law, only gambling companies with a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licence can be legally advertised to UK consumers. A report by The Athletic found that since it made enquiries, the Punt Casino website has become geo-blocked for UK users. A spokesperson for Punt Casino told the publication: “Punt Casino is a fully licensed Curaçao casino operating under the rules and regulations associated with that licence. “We do not target or promote our casino to customers of any countries and/or jurisdictions not allowed by such licence.” The Athletic also reported Owen found himself in hot water with the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) regarding subsequent tweets advertising NFTs. Owen tweeted: “My Twitter Space is about to go live, to discuss my NFT project. Despite the critics, my NFTs will be the first ever that can’t lose their initial value.” A spokesperson for Owen has said that the tweets have all been removed and the case was now closed.