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.