ASA bans Midnite TikTok ad featuring young-looking AI gambler

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a Midnite TikTok advertisement. The agency rules that its AI-generated central character appeared to be under 25.

The paid advertisement appeared on 3 July. It showed a young-looking man using a gambling app. The ad promoted an offer of £30 in free bets after placing a £10 wager.

Under the CAP Code, advertisers can’t show anyone who is or appears to be under 25 taking part in gambling or playing a role in gambling advertising.

In its ruling against Midnite operator Dribble Media, the ASA said the character’s smooth skin, boyish hairstyle, grey hoodie and excited manner suggested he was in his late teens or early twenties.

“There was nothing in his appearance, styling or behaviour that clearly indicated he was older than 25.”

The ad breached CAP Code rules 16.3 and 16.3.14. The ruling means it can’t appear again in the same form again.

Midnite says affiliate published ad without approval

Dribble Media said it had not authorised the advertisement and identified differences between the branding used in the video and Midnite’s official materials.

Its investigation found that affiliate Limay Media had created the content. Midnite said the affiliate had not been contracted to publish paid social media posts and confirmed that it had since ended the relationship.

Limay Media acknowledged that its usual managerial and client approval process had not been followed. It described this as an isolated error and said the advertisement was removed within hours.

The affiliate explained that the individual was entirely AI-generated. It said it had not been based on a real person. However, the prompt used to create the character did not specify an age. It also didn’t state that he needed to appear at least 25.

The ASA found that the fictional nature of the character did not remove the need to comply with age-related advertising rules. It said no evidence had been provided to show that the AI was instructed to produce someone who credibly appeared over 25.

Limay has since introduced safeguards including age-specific prompts, perceived-age assessments and retained records of its generation and approval processes.

This was Midnite’s third ASA investigation of 2026. An August complaint involving an advertisement that presented gambling as an escape from personal problems was upheld, while a separate June complaint was rejected.

White Hat Gaming cleared over esports ads

In a separate decision, the  ASA rejected a complaint about White Hat Gaming advertisements shown on Counter-Strike 2 esports website HLTV.

Display ads for Casimba and The Grand Ivy Casino promoted deposit bonuses and featured 18+ warnings. A complainant argued that their placement could target under-18s.

Reliable age data for HLTV’s website audience was unavailable. However, the ASA found its analytical coverage, professional match statistics and presentation were primarily aimed at adults.

It concluded there was no evidence that under-18s were likely to represent more than 25% of the audience. The complaint was not upheld and no further action was required.