Gambling firm BetVictor has had an advert banned for including footballers that are considered popular among under-18-year-olds.

The Gibraltar-based group ran a Facebook advert in January that included FC Barcelona footballers Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

It included both the name and logo of the company accompanied by text asking: “Who is the most underrated player at the club you support?”

UK regulator, Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated the advert and found that the two footballers have a strong appeal to youths – therefore warranting the ban.

BetVictor argued that it had used the two players because it believed neither fell into the category of ‘high risk’.

Both footballers didn’t have major deals with UK brands or a large social media following amongst under-18s, the betting group argued.

However, the ASA noted that footballers playing for top European clubs were considered high-risk.

The regulator added that because of the large number of trophies and influence the two had within Barcelona, they were considering ‘stars’ and “likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s.”

The news comes a week after it was announced that front-of-shirt gambling sponsors would be banned in the Premier League.

Despite being a self-governed choice by the English football league, the tightening of regulations for firms could be an indication of what the upcoming gambling white paper holds in store.

The review is expected to challenge industry issues such as the way affordability checks are handled or how firms can maintain effective anti-money laundering processes.

Last month, 888-owned William Hill was fined £19mln, the largest penalty ever issued by the Gambling Commission, for failing to protect its customers and stop money laundering.