The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a ruling against Midnite over a paid TikTok advertisement featuring an AI-generated character that appeared to be under 25.
The ad, seen on 3 July during the FIFA World Cup, showed a male character using a gambling app while promoting a £10 bet and £30 free-bet offer. It was identified through the ASA's Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search online advertising for potential breaches.
Under CAP Code rule 16.3.14, people who are or appear to be under 25 cannot be shown gambling or play a significant role in gambling advertising, subject to limited exceptions for transactional betting environments.
Midnite operator Dribble Media said it had not sanctioned the advertisement and that the branding used was not its own despite the Midnite name appearing. Its investigation found the content had been produced by affiliate Limay Media, which had not been contracted to publish paid social media posts.
Midnite subsequently ended its contract with the affiliate.
Limay Media told the regulator that the person shown was entirely AI-generated and was intended to depict an adult. However, its generation prompt did not specify an age.
The ASA found that the character's facial features, hairstyle, clothing and behaviour created the impression of someone in their late teens or early twenties. It concluded that using a fictional AI character did not prevent the advertisement from breaching rules based on perceived age.
Limay Media said its normal managerial and client approval process had not been followed. It has since introduced safeguards including age-specific prompts, perceived-age reviews and record-keeping for AI-generated advertising.
The ruling comes during increased proactive scrutiny of gambling advertising. Ahead of the World Cup, the ASA issued an enforcement notice covering social media gambling ads with strong appeal to under-18s. Its subsequent four-week monitoring exercise reviewed nearly 10,000 pieces of content and identified compliance issues involving seven advertisers.
Midnite is also pursuing wider expansion after raising $35m in Series C funding in January, taking its total equity funding above $75m. The funding was earmarked for operations, product development and international expansion.
Last month, the ASA banned five Midnite advertisements after receiving 125 complaints and finding that the campaign could suggest gambling offered relief from stressful situations. The decision formed part of broader regulatory scrutiny of the operator's advertising during 2026.
The ASA's Active Ad Monitoring system uses AI to proactively identify online advertisements that may breach advertising rules
