Tesco contacts police in the UK over fake casino
In the United Kingdom, supermarket chain Tesco reported to the City of London Police the use of its brand in advertising and on the website of an unlicensed online casino. The fake “Tesco casino” was advertised on Facebook, and a page promoting it existed on the platform before journalists approached Meta with questions. The Guardian reports.
A website available to users in the United Kingdom calls itself the “official Tesco casino” and uses references to the retail chain, creating the impression of its involvement in the project. At the same time, the resource does not have a licence to provide gambling services in the United Kingdom, which is mandatory to operate in this market.
Report to police
Tesco declined to comment but passed the information to the National Cyber Security Centre and the Report Fraud service, which is overseen by the City of London Police. A police spokesperson said that the complaint had been received but had not yet been passed to the police service for investigation.
Following the publication’s inquiry, Meta removed the advertisement. At the same time, according to the newspaper, the platform believes that responsibility for compliance with local legislation lies with advertisers rather than its services.
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Brands and athletes
Similar materials used the branding of Barclays and Monzo. Barclays said it did not approve these advertisements and had no connection to them, and that it had taken measures to protect customers from the misleading use of intellectual property. Monzo called such ads AI-enabled fraud and urged customers to remain vigilant.
Unlicensed gambling websites also used images of athletes without consent, including Lewis Hamilton, Tyson Fury, Jude Bellingham and Bruno Fernandes. Cryptocurrency casino Rainbet, which says it is licensed on the island of Anjouan in the Indian Ocean, showed in advertising via Meta a person resembling footballer Erling Haaland in the Norway national team kit.
The UK Gambling Commission said that using well-known brands to direct users to unlicensed casinos is a particularly cynical form of illegal activity. The regulator noted that it would receive additional powers in the autumn, which are intended to strengthen its ability to remove unlicensed sites targeting UK consumers.
