Tesco Reports Scam ‘Endorsement’ Ads as Fake Casino Promotions Spread
Tesco has alerted the City of London Police after becoming the latest in a series of major companies and public figures to have its brand identity misused by unlicensed online casinos advertising through Facebook and Instagram. The supermarket chain joins Barclays, Lewis Hamilton, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham among those whose images have been hijacked in fraudulent endorsement campaigns.
The Scope of the Problem
A fake Tesco-branded casino page circulated on Facebook before it was removed, promoting a bonus offer under the retailer’s name. According to reports, the advertisements used the supermarket’s branding to lend apparent legitimacy to unlicensed gambling operators, encouraging consumers to deposit funds with platforms that offer no regulatory protection.
The case is part of a broader surge in fake celebrity and corporate endorsement adverts appearing on major social media platforms. Fraudulent operators typically lift images of well-known brands or athletes, fabricate endorsement claims, and direct users to cloned or unlicensed gambling and investment sites. Victims who engage with these adverts frequently lose deposits and personal data, with little realistic prospect of recovery.
Regulatory and Industry Response
The incident has drawn attention from legislators, who have warned about the wider issue of fake endorsement advertising and the difficulty of holding platforms accountable. Consumer bodies, including Which?, have documented similar schemes in which scam adverts on Facebook lead users to fabricated news articles promoting illegitimate investment and gambling platforms.
For advertisers and rights holders, the episode underscores persistent challenges in brand-protection enforcement. Takedown requests are often slow, and fraudulent pages frequently reappear under new names once removed. The Advertising Standards Authority’s remit covers legitimate advertising, but enforcement against offshore unlicensed operators remains limited.
