A baby named after a crypto casino: what the BetBolt claim means under UK gambling rules

An adult content creator known for publicity stunts said on 23 September 2026 that an auction for the naming rights to her newborn had closed at £1.2 million, and that the baby would be called BetBolt, the name of a crypto casino. None of it is confirmed: not the payment, not the bidder, not the registration. The gambling angle is easier to check. BetBolt is licensed in Anjouan, is not on the Gambling Commission's register, and the claim lands while the UK government is deciding whether to ban unlicensed gambling brands from sponsorship deals altogether.

Bonnie Blue, the stage name of Tia Billinger, announced the result in a video: the winning bid was £1.2 million and the name was BetBolt. She said she had an appointment at Westminster Register Office to register the birth. Runner-up suggestions in the auction included other internet personalities and slogans. She also said she was unsure what involvement, if any, the company would have.

What is actually confirmed

Very little. The outlets that carried the announcement all say the same thing in different words: nobody has independently confirmed that £1.2 million changed hands, who placed the winning bid, or that a register office has recorded the name. BetBolt has not publicly said it made the bid or that it approved the use of its name. Until one of those three things is shown, the story remains a claim made in a social media announcement.

Who is behind BetBolt

BetBolt presents itself as a crypto casino and sportsbook. Its website footer names the operator as Hi Steaks Entertainment Limited, with an address on the island of Anjouan in the Union of Comoros, and gives an Anjouan licence number, ALSI-202508042-FI2. Its terms list the countries it does not accept players from as Anjouan, Malta, Curaçao and Costa Rica; the United Kingdom is not on that list. We read the footer and terms directly and do not link to the site.

We then checked the Gambling Commission's public register, which lists every business licensed to offer gambling to people in Great Britain, together with their declared trading and domain names. Neither BetBolt nor Hi Steaks Entertainment appears in the business, trading-name or domain-name data downloaded on 24 September 2026. Several other websites use the BetBolt name with different country endings; some describe themselves as review sites, and their claims about licences do not match the operator's own footer.

The licensing rule in Great Britain

Since the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, Great Britain regulates at the point of consumption. An operator needs a Commission licence if its remote gambling facilities are used in Great Britain and it knows or should know that they are. The same Act widened the offence of advertising unlawful gambling, so that it covers operators whose facilities can be used in Great Britain without the licence they need. Both duties sit with the business offering the gambling and with whoever advertises it, not with the person reading the advert. More on how licences work in our licensing guide.

What the advertising code says about children

Gambling marketing in the UK is also bound by the CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority. Section 16 starts from the principle that gambling marketing must be socially responsible, with particular regard to protecting children and young people. It bans marketing likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s, marketing directed at under-18s through the media or context chosen, and marketing that includes a child or young person; nobody who is or seems to be under 25 may be shown gambling or playing a significant role.

Whether any of that applies here turns on facts nobody has established. The code covers marketing communications. If a gambling brand paid for a child to carry its name as a publicity exercise, that would be hard to describe as anything else; if an unconnected fan bid the name as a joke, the brand may have nothing to answer for. That is why the identity of the bidder is the fact that matters most.

This is not the first gambling stunt involving the same creator

In February 2025 the Gambling Commission opened an investigation into a widely viewed social media video that showed a Stake-branded logo and featured an adult actress outside Nottingham Trent University. After meeting the Commission, TGP Europe, the business behind Stake's British site, stopped taking new customers and closed its British operation by 11 March 2025. Press reports at the time identified the performer as Bonnie Blue. The Commission's own notice did not name her.

The sponsorship loophole the government wants to close

The claim arrives at an awkward moment for unlicensed brands. On 15 July 2026 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened a consultation on banning gambling operators without a British licence from sponsorship and advertising arrangements in every sector. Today such brands can sponsor clubs and events as long as they block British customers, a condition the consultation itself says can be defeated with a VPN. The consultation closed on 9 September 2026 and the department says it is analysing responses; no decision has been published.

The child-protection criticism

Criticism of the auction started before the result was announced. The child protection lawyer Nieki Shaw put it simply: "a baby cannot consent to being a part of anybody's rage-bait strategy". The NSPCC confirmed it had received a concern and said it takes concerns about children's safety seriously, without announcing any action. The creator said her baby is loved, protected and well looked after. No court, council or police force has made any finding, and we are not going to add detail about the child.

Can a brand name be registered as a child's name?

In England and Wales a birth has to be registered within 42 days. Official guidance on names deals with names that could cause public offence, such as swear words or explicit references, but does not list brand or company names as a barred category. So a registered name is possible in principle; whether it has happened here is, again, not confirmed.

What is confirmed and what is not yet known

• Confirmed: the announcement was made; BetBolt's site names an Anjouan licence and an Anjouan-registered operator; BetBolt does not appear on the Gambling Commission register; the unlicensed-sponsorship consultation closed on 9 September 2026.
• Not known: whether any money was paid, who bid, whether BetBolt approved or paid for the use of its name, whether the name has been registered, and whether any regulator will look at it.

What it means for players

For anyone in Britain, the practical point is the register, not the headline. A site that is not on the Gambling Commission's list is not bound by British rules on affordability checks, GAMSTOP self-exclusion or dispute resolution, and the Commission cannot help if a withdrawal goes wrong. Checking a brand takes a minute on the Commission's website. If gambling is taking up more of your time or money than you want, our responsible gambling guide lists free help.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. IBTimes UK - Bonnie Blue reveals baby's name after naming rights auction (23 Sep 2026)
2. IBTimes UK - Baby name claim cannot be independently verified (23 Sep 2026)
3. IBTimes UK - Child protection lawyer criticism and NSPCC statement (22 Sep 2026)
4. Gambling Commission - Register of gambling businesses (data dated 24 Sep 2026)
5. ASA / CAP - Non-broadcast code, section 16: gambling
6. legislation.gov.uk - Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, explanatory notes
7. Gambling Commission - Consumer information notice: Stake leaving GB market (12 Feb 2025)
8. NationalWorld - Stake to shut down UK operations (13 Feb 2025)
9. DCMS - Consultation on banning unlicensed gambling sponsorship (15 Jul - 9 Sep 2026)
10. GOV.UK - Birth registration guidance
11. HM Passport Office - Names that cannot be used in passports (27 Aug 2026)