Entain Names 30 Illegal Gambling Sites Using Social Media to Target Customers as Young as 14

Illegal betting sites are using a ‘coordinated network’ of celebrities, influencers and tipsters to promote their platforms to new customers on social media – with children as young as 14 in their crosshairs.

Entain, whose brands include Ladbrokes, Coral and PartyPoker, have made the shocking discovery as part of their analysis of open-source intelligence.

And they’ve identified as many as 30 black market operators as part of their study, with the likes of Stake.com, Duelbits and RainBet all namechecked as culprits.

Lending Legitimacy

One of the most challenging aspects of the revelations is how deeply embedded the promotion of illegal sites is on social media – often within generic, seemingly mainstream content.

That’s because famous faces and influencers with large follower counts are used as ‘fronts’ for the promotion, with messaging typically aimed at 14-25-year-olds that consume content across football, gaming and the so-called ‘manosphere’.

According to Entain’s research, which was led by the independent OSINT in May 2026,  the situation is likely to be exacerbated during the World Cup, where engagement in content – particularly ‘viral’ video shared by these influential networks – is as likely to be as high as it’s ever been.

In the study quoted by Entain, there were 72 cases of unregulated gambling operators promoting their services to a UK audience, with much of the content focused on the World Cup.

These promotional messages were shared on social media sites like X, Kick and Instagram, as well as TikTok, where 20% of the UK audience is aged 17 or younger.

Licensed operators are banned from promoting their platforms in the UK via celebrities and sporting stars that would likely hold appeal to a young audience – offshore firms don’t abide by the same ASA rulebook.

That’s why the likes of Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard and Iker Casillas, all prominent former footballers, have been able to appear as global ambassadors in ads for the illegal market.

It’s an approach that can lend legitimacy to the unregulated sector, claims Entain, and convince players that the betting site in question is safe and authentic.

Wake Up Call

Elsewhere, influential internet personalities such as HSTikkyTokky and Adin Ross have – directly or otherwise – promoted illegal gambling sites, posting content in which they flaunt their wealth with cash bundles and sports cars.

Notable tipsters, who have built sizable communities of followers, were found to have shared the same posts – a series of World Cup betting tips – on their channels simultaneously, which is likely, according to Entain, to have been part of a coordinated affiliate marketing campaign.

And to make matters all the more disturbing, the researchers discovered that some illegal sites were using AI-generated personas, largely on YouTube, to present videos on how UK punters can circumnavigate geo-restrictions and verification checks to bet with illegal or offshore betting sites.

Commenting on these alarming results, the managing director of Entain – Bejay Patel – commented:

“As the men’s World Cup is underway, this research is a wake-up call to government, regulators and law enforcement agencies that illegal gambling promotion is not operating at the fringes but is now operating at scale in the UK, with coordinated networks primed to target millions of UK fans during the tournament.

“It also raises serious questions about whether regulators and enforcement agencies have the powers and resources needed to tackle the highly coordinated illegal gambling promotion effectively, particularly across global social media platforms.”

The research comes just weeks after the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) in the UK unveiled a new AI-powered ad monitoring system to target ‘illegal’ gambling marketing online.