TLDR
- A fake Tesco-branded gambling website operated in the UK without a Gambling Commission licence
- Facebook ads promoted the fake casino until Meta removed them after being contacted
- Barclays, Monzo, and several sports stars have also had their identities used in casino scams
- Tesco reported the matter to the National Cyber Security Centre and Report Fraud
- The Gambling Commission expects new powers this autumn to fight illegal gambling sites
A website posing as an official Tesco casino remained live in the UK over the weekend. It had no licence from the Gambling Commission and no real link to the supermarket.
The site did more than borrow the Tesco name. It used Facebook ads and ran its own Facebook page. It even compared its slot game layout to Tesco’s physical stores.
Tesco has reported the issue to the National Cyber Security Centre and to Report Fraud, a service run by City of London Police. Police confirmed the complaint but had not assigned it to a formal investigation as of Sunday.
Meta removed the Facebook ads after being contacted by a reporter from the Guardian.
Other Big Brands Targeted Too
Tesco is not alone. Barclays and Monzo branding has shown up in gambling promotions without permission.
Coral and Gala Bingo, both owned by Entain, have also been impersonated. Sports figures have been pulled in as well.
Lewis Hamilton’s image appeared next to Barclays-themed gambling content. Tyson Fury found a casino using his name and publicly denied any connection to it.
Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes have also had their identities used by gambling operators without consent. None of these athletes endorsed the sites.
One crypto casino called Rainbet used an ad featuring someone resembling footballer Erling Haaland. Rainbet claimed a licence from Anjouan and was not available to UK users, but its ads still ran on Meta platforms.
Some ads also appeared to use AI-generated content. One Barclays-themed ad featured an AI-generated woman before switching to casino game footage. Barclays denied any connection to the campaign. Monzo called it an AI-assisted scam.
Why Scammers Use Trusted Names
Using a known brand solves a trust problem for scam operators. An unknown offshore casino has trouble asking people to deposit money.
A name like Tesco or Barclays removes that hesitation. So do athletes people already recognize and trust.
Meta’s official stance is that advertisers, not the platform, are responsible for following local gambling rules. That leaves open how these ads were approved in the first place.
Entain’s UK and Ireland managing director, Bejay Patel, said impersonation hurts both consumers and licensed operators. He said these operators avoid taxes and fees that legal companies pay. He has asked Ofcom to intervene.
The Gambling Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority both know about this pattern of ads. Campaigns have continued despite that awareness. The Gambling Commission has criticized Meta in the past over ads for unlicensed gambling sites.
The regulator can act against illegal gambling sites targeting UK consumers. It cannot act on brand impersonation, since that falls outside its authority.
New powers are expected this autumn under the crime and policing bill. The Gambling Commission believes this will help it shut down illegal gambling sites faster.
Offshore Licences Don’t Cover the UK
Several of these sites claimed licences from Curaçao or Anjouan. Neither licence allows a casino to legally offer gambling to UK consumers without separate UK authorization.
Contact details on both the Tesco and Fury-linked sites led nowhere useful. One contact page simply displayed a short unrelated message.
Questions remain for Meta about how it verifies gambling advertisers and checks their licences against target countries. It has not said how much these campaigns cost or how many UK users saw them before removal.
The Gambling Commission has not said whether it has identified who runs these sites. It also has not confirmed whether it knows which payment processors or hosting companies support them.
For now, Tesco’s police complaint is the clearest next step. The people funding, hosting, and profiting from these sites remain unidentified.
