Gambling partnerships for content creators

Gambling partnerships are possible for content creators on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, but each platform sets its own conditions, and X does not allow organic paid gambling partnerships in the UK at all. In the UK every post must be labelled "#ad", must not appeal strongly to under-18s, and must not feature anyone who is or looks under 25. Check both the platform and the audience before you agree terms.

Rules below were read on 4 October 2026. Platforms update these pages often, so recheck on the day you sign.

Platform rules at a glance

YouTube

Since 19 March 2025, YouTube has not allowed any way of directing viewers to gambling sites or apps that are not certified by Google: links, links in images or text, logos and verbal references. From 17 November 2025 that also covers gambling with skins, cosmetics and NFTs, and content promoting social casino sites is age-restricted.

YouTube's current policy says content that promotes or depicts online gambling, including from certified sites, may be age-restricted, so signed-out viewers and under-18s cannot see it. It may make exceptions for sports betting content from certified providers. Promising guaranteed returns is banned whether or not the site is certified. A first breach usually brings a warning; three strikes within 90 days can end the channel.

For any sponsored video, tick the paid promotion box. That adds a disclosure at the start and lets you set age and location restrictions on the video. Use both.

Instagram and Facebook

Meta's Branded Content Policies require both the business partner and the creator to get written permission from Facebook before promoting real-money gambling. The post must be targeted to people aged 18 or over and restricted to the jurisdiction the permission covers. It must go out with the branded content tool, the "paid partnership" label, with the brand tagged with its prior permission.

TikTok

TikTok's Branded Content Policy, in the version effective 31 August 2026, restricts gambling, lotteries and real-money games branded content in the UK to users over 18 and to the market where it was posted. The same applies in markets including the US, Canada, Germany, Spain, France and Australia. In others, including Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Portugal, it is not allowed at all. Turn on the commercial content disclosure toggle.

X

X's Paid Partnerships Policy lists gambling products and services, including lotteries, social casinos and sports betting, as a prohibited industry for organic paid partnerships in the UK, the EU and Australia. X may consider exceptions case by case. X's gambling ads policy is separate: it lets operators licensed by the Gambling Commission run certified paid ads to the UK. It covers paid ads, including affiliates and bonus codes, and is a different policy from organic paid partnerships.

Operator view

If your creator programme runs across markets, map each creator's audience GEO against the TikTok and X lists. A post that is fine in the UK can be banned on the same platform in Ireland.

UK labelling

CAP and ASA rules apply across the UK. Ads must be obviously identifiable. The ASA recommends clear labels such as "#ad" and advises against "sponsored", which it calls open to varied interpretation. "Gifted", "Supported by" and "In association with" are unlikely to be clear enough, and "affiliate" on its own is not well understood.

Use the platform's tool and "#ad" together. The tool meets the platform's rule. "#ad" is the label the ASA recommends.

UK audience rules

• Strong appeal (CAP rule 16.3.12): no person or character with strong appeal to under-18s, and nothing associated with youth culture.
• Media and context (16.3.13): under-18s must be unlikely to be more than 25% of the audience. A paid post is judged on the account's followers.
• Under 25 (16.3.14): nobody who is or seems under 25 can be shown gambling or in a significant role.

CAP's under-18s gambling guidance (current edition dated October 2025) adds a rule of thumb: 100,000 or more follower accounts registered to under-18s, across all your social platforms, indicates strong appeal. The ASA looks at the absolute number. In the BetUK ruling (13 March 2024), former footballer Adebayo Akinfenwa had at least 157,000 under-18 followers, only 8% of his Instagram following, and the ad was found in breach. CAP also warns that many under-18s register with an adult age, so the true figure is likely to be higher.

The rule on looking under 25 covers made-up characters too. On 16 September 2026 the ASA upheld a complaint against Midnite and its affiliate over a paid TikTok ad with an AI-generated character who appeared under 25.

Affiliate view

Your follower count is your pitch. In gambling, your under-18 follower count is the first thing compliance reads. Know it before they ask.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Read CAP's under-18s gambling guidance and the ASA's advice on recognising ads.

Your audience data

We checked the developer documentation for YouTube, Twitch and Kick, and only YouTube's gives age data. We have not checked what Meta, TikTok or X provide, so export whatever audience data those platforms show you. The YouTube Analytics API reports age bands, including 13-17, and gender, for logged-in viewers only. Where data is thin, YouTube withholds it, so small channels may see "Not enough demographic data". CAP says that where signed-out users can watch, the audience is likely wider than signed-in data shows.

Export what your platforms show you, from every account, with dates. An operator will need numbers from all your major platforms to apply the 100,000 test.

How to approach operators

Go to licensed brands, and lead with what their compliance team needs.

1. Pick brands licensed where your audience is. In Great Britain the Gambling Commission makes licensees responsible for the third parties they contract with (LCCP 1.1.2 and 1.1.3), so a licensed operator has to check you.
2. Send a one-page compliance pack: every account, follower totals, age data where it exists, top countries, and how you will label.
3. Confirm the platform route: Meta permission, TikTok market, YouTube certification. Ask who obtains Meta's written permission, since both of you need it.
4. Agree the commercial terms: a fixed fee, CPA or revenue share, and how you are credited, using a unique promo code or tracking link where the platform allows one.
5. Agree creative sign-off: who approves the post, and how fast.
6. Get it in writing, including what happens if a platform changes its rules mid-deal.

Checklist

• Platform allows gambling branded content in your market
• Brand is licensed where your audience is
• Under-18 followers totalled across every platform
• No one under 25, or who looks it, in gambling scenes
• "#ad" plus the platform's disclosure tool
• Age and location restrictions set where the platform offers them
• Written contract covering labelling, sign-off and rule changes