Tesco alerts police as supermarket becomes latest victim of scam ‘endorsement’ ads
Tesco has reported a scam to City of London police after unlicensed casinos used the supermarket's branding without permission in adverts run on Facebook and Instagram, becoming the latest in a growing list of companies and sports stars whose images have been hijacked. Barclays, Lewis Hamilton, Tyson Fury and footballers including Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes have all had their names, faces or likenesses used by offshore gambling operators seeking to exploit trusted brands to promote services that are illegal to offer in Britain. The issue highlights ongoing failures by the Gambling Commission, the Advertising Standards Authority and Meta to stop the ads spreading despite awareness of the problem.
A fake "Tesco casino" advert and Facebook page, taken down only after the Guardian contacted Meta, linked to a website still live in the UK that falsely claimed official ties to the FTSE 100 firm and lacked the licence required to operate gambling services in Britain. Tesco referred the matter to the National Cyber Security Centre and Report Fraud, though police say it has not yet been passed to a force for investigation. Other examples include an offensive AI-generated "Barclays Slots" advert condemned by the bank, fake "Monzo slots" branding described by the bank as an AI-enabled scam, and a Haaland lookalike promoting the crypto casino Rainbet, which claims an Anjouan licence. Meta says it removed the ads once questioned but maintains advertisers, not its platforms, bear responsibility for regulatory compliance.
- Tesco reports unlicensed casino scam using its brand to police
- Barclays, Hamilton, Fury, Haaland also hijacked by fake gambling ads
- Meta removed ads after Guardian inquiry but denies platform responsibility
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Tesco has become the latest big brand to have its name hijacked by scammers running fake gambling adverts on Facebook and Instagram. Unlicensed, offshore casino operators create adverts and pages using well-known logos and names to make their sites look legitimate and trustworthy, even though it is illegal for them to offer gambling services to UK customers without a licence. Tesco is far from the only target: banks including Barclays and Monzo, and sports stars such as Lewis Hamilton, Tyson Fury and Erling Haaland, have all had their images or names used in similar ways.
These scams matter because they can trick people into signing up with unregulated gambling sites, putting their money and personal details at risk, while also damaging the reputation of the companies and individuals whose branding is stolen without consent. The problem points to gaps in how such adverts are policed. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has generally removed the fake adverts once they are flagged, but says it is up to advertisers, not the platform, to ensure they comply with the law. Regulators such as the Gambling Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority are also responsible for tackling illegal gambling promotion in the UK.
This case follows a pattern seen with other companies, where fake adverts are only taken down after journalists or the affected firms raise the issue directly with Meta, and the underlying scam websites can remain active. It has prompted questions about whether current oversight by tech platforms, advertising regulators and gambling authorities is sufficient to stop such scams reappearing.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those who argue platforms bear real responsibility point out that Meta has the technical means and commercial incentive to screen advertisers before an ad reaches millions of users, and that its current practice of removing fraudulent adverts only after journalists or victims complain leaves the burden of policing scams on the very brands and individuals being impersonated. Given that gambling operators without a UK licence are breaking the law, and that celebrities and companies have repeatedly flagged the same recurring scam patterns, advocates for stronger platform accountability say a modest amount of proactive verification, such as checking advertiser identity or licensing claims, would prevent significant harm to consumers who may be defrauded and to the reputations of the brands being misused.
The case against
Others argue that primary responsibility properly rests with the fraudulent advertisers and with regulators such as the Gambling Commission and Advertising Standards Authority, since it is those bodies, not a technology platform, that hold statutory enforcement powers and investigative resources. From this perspective, Meta processes an enormous volume of adverts globally, sophisticated scammers routinely alter imagery and wording to evade automated filters, and demanding platforms pre-vet every claim of endorsement or licensing risks an unworkable compliance burden, delays for legitimate advertisers, and a false sense that platform sign-off equals legality, when only regulators and police can properly verify licensing and pursue the offshore operators actually committing the fraud.