{"id":216854,"date":"2022-06-11T04:53:27","date_gmt":"2022-06-11T11:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=216854"},"modified":"2022-06-11T16:33:46","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T23:33:46","slug":"michael-owen-blasted-for-backing-crypto-casino-nft-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michael-owen-blasted-for-backing-crypto-casino-nft-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Owen Blasted for Backing Unlicensed Crypto Casino, Misleading NFT Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former England soccer star Michael Owen has been criticized for promoting Punt Casino, an unlicensed crypto casino, in violation of UK gambling laws, The Athletic<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n

\"Michael
Michael Owen, pictured, made the unlikely promise that his NFTs \u201ccould not lose their original value.\u201d (Image: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Separately, the ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid striker has been ordered by the UK\u2019s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to cease promoting an NFT (non-fungible token<\/a>) concept. It claimed to be \u201cthe first-ever (NFTs) that can\u2019t lose their initial value.”<\/p>\n

Owen, who scored 40 goals for England and won the Ballon d\u2019Or in 2001, was unveiled as Punt Casino\u2019s \u201cglobal brand ambassador\u201d in February. The accompanying press release said he would appear in various commercial and online ad campaigns for the casino, and included a quote attributed to Owen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a strong believer in the power of crypto, so teaming up with an innovative platform like Punt Casino feels like a natural fit,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

Worth a Punt?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Owen\u2019s profile is also a natural fit for the UK gambling market, despite Punt Casino\u2019s lack of licensing in that jurisdiction. Its name, \u201cpunt,\u201d is a specifically British slang word for betting.<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/em> said it made \u201cinquiries,\u201d after which tweets by Owen promoting the casino were deleted and its operations were \u201cgeo-blocked\u201d for UK users.<\/p>\n

Punt Casino is a fully licensed Curacao casino operating under the rules and regulations associated with that license,\u201d <\/strong>a spokesperson told The Athletic. \u201cWe do not target or promote our casino to customers of any countries and\/or jurisdictions not allowed by such license.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The statement is carefully worded. It is not clear whether the terms of Punt Casino\u2019s Curacao license allowed it to target the UK, although regulatory oversight in the tiny Caribbean island is notoriously lax.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Misleading\u2019 NFTs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Owen\u2019s tweets in support of the NFT scheme have also been deleted after the ASA\u2019s intervention. The ex-footballer claimed on Twitter last month that \u201cDespite the critics, my NFTs will be the first-ever (sic) that can\u2019t lose their initial value.\u201d<\/p>\n

NFTs are digital tokens that can represent ownership of an underlying virtual item. Each NFT is unique. Once minted, it exists as a permanent and unique proof of title that cannot be edited, deleted, or copied.<\/p>\n

\n

The market in NFTs soared throughout 2021, but has plunged in recent months. The average price is now less than half of its March 2021 peak.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The concept behind Owen\u2019s NFTs is that each token contains code that ensures it cannot be sold for less than the original purchase price. But no asset is immune from market pressures, and if no one wants to buy a token at the original price, it is effectively worth nothing.<\/p>\n

The ASA said the tweet was likely to mislead the public.<\/p>\n

The authority is currently conducting a wide-ranging review of the issues surrounding NFT advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former England soccer star Michael Owen has been criticized for promoting Punt Casino, an unlicensed crypto casino, in violation of UK gambling laws, The Athletic reports. Separately, the ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid striker has been ordered by the UK\u2019s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to cease promoting an NFT (non-fungible token) concept. It claimed to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":216855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24066,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Owen Blasted for Backing Crypto Casino, NFT Scheme<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Soccer\u2019s Michael Owen criticized for promoting illegal crypto casino, Punt Casino, and for scheme for NFTs that \u201cdon\u2019t lose value.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/michael-owen-blasted-for-backing-crypto-casino-nft-scheme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Owen Blasted for Backing Crypto Casino, NFT Scheme\" 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