On 1 September 2025, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) issued a regulatory statement stating that the scope of the CAP Code has now been extended to include non-paid-for marketing communications that target UK consumers by advertisers that are not registered in the UK, that are subject to UK licensing conditions that require compliance with the CAP Code. As a result, this change will primarily affect UK licensed gambling operators that happen to be based outside the UK.

Previously, the CAP Code stated it did not apply to marketing communications on websites, apps and cross-border platforms (e.g., social media or retail platforms) unless:

• non-paid-for marketing communications are made by marketers with a UK-registered company address;
• marketing communications appear on websites with a “.uk” top-level domain; and
• paid-for marketing communications from or by marketers target consumers in the UK.

The CAP Code has now been amended (see amendments in bold) to indicate it will apply to:

• non-paid-for marketing communications from or by marketers with a UK-registered company address and / or [those] who are subject to licensing conditions requiring compliance with the CAP Code, which are imposed by either a UK public authority or UK public body;
• marketing communications appearing on websites with a “.uk” top-level domain; and
• paid-for marketing communications from or by marketers targeting consumers in the UK.

There are many offshore gambling operators that market their services to consumers in the UK via social media channels, who also happen to hold a UK gambling licence with the UK Gambling Commission. As a licensee, a gambling operator is required to comply with the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP), which states licensees must comply with the CAP Code (as well as the Broadcast Committee of Advertising (BCAP) Code) (as per LCCP 5.6 and 5.7).

The amendments to the CAP Code have been made to ensure offshore operators that hold a UK gambling licence are subject to the same regulatory standards as those gambling operators that are registered in the UK, and therefore clearly seeks to reduce regulatory arbitrage where the marketing activities of an offshore operator was previously, technically, beyond the regulatory reach of the CAP Code.

CAP has indicated in its regulatory statement it will be reviewing the impact of implementing this amendment for three months and actively invites feedback from stakeholders, with comments being accepted up until 5pm on 1 December 2025.

An obvious impact of this extension will be operators’ own social media pages. In the gambling industry it is not uncommon for operators not to have registered company presence in the UK, despite them holding a UK gambling licence. It does not seem fair that if a company’s registered office is in e.g., Malta or the Republic of Ireland, that the organic posts made by that operator, clearly being used to drive traffic to it’s UK site, should not be required to comply with the CAP Code. Of course, compliance with the CAP Code is an LCCP requirement, but given that it is the Advertising Standards Authority, the UK’s advertising regulator, that first hears the complaint, this amendment is really only closing a loophole.

CAP anticipates that the amendments to the CAP Code will not indirectly bring into its remit other non-UK advertisers (i.e., those that are not gambling operators), unless such advertisers are under similar UK licensing requirements to adhere to the CAP (and BCAP) Code.

Notwithstanding the above, it is clear offshore gambling operators who hold a UK gambling licence must now ensure all their marketing communications that are placed on a social media platform (or on a non-paid-for space) are compliant with the CAP Code, which may require further internal (legal / compliance) training as well as a review of future marketing strategies and content auditing processes. This will be a big blow to betting operators who are still using imagery of footballers considered to be of ‘strong’ appeal on their social media posts but many will say this ‘plugging of the gap’ has taken long enough. At least now, all licensed operators are being required to play by the same set of rules, regardless of their corporate structure.

To read the CAP’s regulatory statement, see here.

To read LCCP 5.6 and 5.7, see here and here respectively.

Feedback relating to the CAP Code amendment can be sent via email (AdPolicy@cap.org.uk) or by post (Regulatory Policy Team Committee of Advertising Practice, Castle House, 37-45 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4LS).