Alcohol influencer rules turn on three questions: who sees the post, who appears in it and what it implies about drinking. In Australia, the ABAC Code applies as soon as an alcohol brand pays you or sends you product, and its influencer compliance guide expects 18+ age-restriction controls on every branded post. In the UK, section 18 of the CAP Code rules out any medium where more than 25% of the audience is under 18 and anyone drinking who is or looks under 25. In the US, the spirits industry's code asks for audiences where at least 73.8% are reasonably expected to be 21 or older. Gambling and vaping deals are tighter again, and some cannot be done legally at all.
This guide covers restricted categories only. Basic ad labelling is in our guides to Australian disclosure rules, UK ASA rules and FTC disclosure. Supplements and health claims are covered in our fitness influencer guide; finance and crypto promotions are outside this page.
What counts as a restricted-category deal
The categories are wider than they look. ABAC applies its Code to drinks above 0.5% alcohol and to drinks at or below that strength that share the branding, look or style of alcohol, so a zero-alcohol beer deal is in scope. The CAP Code has parallel rules for alcohol alternatives, and TikTok's branded content rules treat alcohol-free versions, mixers presented for alcohol and drinking games as alcohol content. Gambling covers betting, casino-style games, lotteries and other real-money games. Vaping covers devices and liquids with or without nicotine.
The relationship also matters less than people assume. ABAC's guide says the Code applies whether you have a formal paid contract or an informal gifting arrangement: if the brand engaged you or sent product hoping you would post, everything you publish that references the brand must meet it.
Category matrix: Australia, the UK and the US
Each cell summarises the official or industry code named in the last column. US alcohol and gambling rules for influencers come mainly from industry self-regulation plus state law, so treat that column as a floor.
| Product | Australia | United Kingdom | United States | Audience age requirement | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol and alcohol alternatives | ABAC Code applies to paid and gifted posts; no strong appeal to minors, no excessive or rapid drinking, no link to success or better mood; people aged 18-24 may not be visually prominent; brand pre-approval and #ad disclosure | Not directed at under-18s through media choice; nobody drinking or in a significant role who is or seems under 25; nothing that reflects youth culture | Industry code: placement where most of the audience is of legal purchase age; influencers should reasonably appear 21 or older and not primarily appeal to under-21s | Australia: 18+ controls, or at least 80% adult followers where no control exists. UK: no medium over 25% under-18. US: at least 73.8% aged 21+ | ABAC Toolkit #3; CAP Code 18; DISCUS Code |
| Gambling and betting | Promoting illegal online gambling, such as online casinos, pokie-style slots or in-play sports betting, is unlawful, with civil penalties for individuals up to $59,400, or up to $2,475,000 for facilitating access through links. Licensed wagering ads must not target minors, show anyone aged 18-24 wagering, pair betting with drinking or promise wins | No strong appeal to under-18s; no one who is or seems under 25 featured gambling or in a significant role, apart from a narrow exception on an operator's own betting site; not directed at under-18s through media choice | Legality is set state by state. The industry code for sports betting says influencers must be at least 21 and that colleges and amateur athletes are off limits | UK: under-18s must not be targeted. US code: at least 73.6% of the audience aged 21+ | ACMA warning; AANA Wagering Code; CAP Code 16; AGA code |
| Vapes and e-cigarettes | Advertising vaping goods to the public has been prohibited since 1 July 2024 unless the TGA authorises it, and authorised ads may not carry testimonials or endorsements; the Tobacco Act separately bans promoting vaping, including online, and vaping sponsorships | Marketing that promotes unlicensed nicotine e-cigarettes is barred from online media, with narrow exceptions for factual claims in space the marketer controls; nobody who is or seems under 25 may be shown using them | Nicotine ads must carry the FDA's nicotine warning, and the FTC and FDA warned companies in 2019 over influencer posts that left it out; material connections must also be disclosed | Australia: no public audience is permitted. UK: where any ad is allowed, no medium over 25% under-18. US: warning required in each post | TGA vaping hub; Health department; CAP Code 22; FTC and FDA letters |
One source conflict is worth knowing. The TGA page often linked for vape advertising, its August 2021 news article, describes an older pharmacy permission that banned influencer promotion but allowed limited pharmacy ads. The current vaping hub reflects the law from 1 July 2024, which prohibits all vape advertising unless authorised, and it is the version to rely on.
Platform rules sit on top of the law
Even where a deal is lawful, the platform may refuse it. Two policies matter most:
- Meta. Its branded content policies prohibit branded content for tobacco products, vaporisers and e-cigarettes. Alcohol branded content must be age-gated to 18 or older in permitted countries, with higher ages in some, such as 21 in the US and 19 in Canada. Real-money gambling needs written permission from Meta for both the brand and the creator, plus 18+ targeting limited to the approved jurisdiction.
- TikTok. Its Branded Content Policy, effective 31 August 2026, prohibits branded content for cigarettes, tobacco, nicotine products and vapes, including vape devices without tobacco content. Alcohol branded content is allowed only when an approved brand invites you through TikTok One, is age-restricted to 18+ in Australia and the UK and 21+ in the US and Canada, and is not allowed in New Zealand among other markets. Gambling branded content is restricted to over-18s in markets including Australia, the UK and the US.
If a brand asks you to post a category the platform bans, the platform's rules decide what stays up: the post can be removed, and your account may face penalties, whatever the contract says. Creators in New Zealand and Canada should also check local category codes, flagged in our guides to New Zealand influencer rules and Canadian disclosure.
How to age-gate a sponsored post
ABAC's toolkit includes step-by-step settings, current at June 2026. In short:
- Instagram. Use a professional account, then when sharing tap Partnership label and ads, add the paid partnership label with the brand, and choose Add audience restrictions to set a minimum age, by country if needed. A default minimum age can be set for the whole account.
- Facebook. Post from your Page through Meta Business Suite and choose a restricted audience under privacy settings.
- YouTube. In Studio, open the video's Audience section and select Age restriction (advanced) to restrict it to viewers over 18. ABAC notes that marking a video “not made for kids” does not age-restrict it.
- TikTok. On the post screen, open More options and turn on Audience controls, which also works for LIVE.
- Paid boosts. In each ads manager, set the minimum age at the ad set or ad group level and switch off audience expansion that could reach younger users.
To check who actually follows you, ABAC points to Instagram's Professional Dashboard audience view, TikTok's follower analytics and YouTube Studio's audience tab. Screenshot them when you accept a deal, because audience composition is the first thing a complaint will test.
Deal-screening checklist
- Name the category precisely, including zero-alcohol versions, accessories and betting-adjacent products.
- List the countries your audience is in, and check the deal is lawful in each; an offshore casino promotion aimed at Australians, or any vape promotion there, ends the conversation.
- For gambling, confirm the operator holds a licence where your audience lives, using the regulator's register where one exists.
- Check your own age and how old you look against the under-25 rules in the UK codes and the 18-24 limits in Australia's alcohol and wagering codes.
- Pull audience-age analytics and compare them with the thresholds in the matrix before agreeing to anything.
- Confirm the platform allows the category, and get any permission it requires, before content is made.
- Switch on age restrictions for every post, story and boost, and set an account-wide default if you run several deals.
- Review the script against the relevant code: no drinking before driving or swimming, no promise of winning, no mood or success claims, no youth-culture styling.
- Agree in writing who approves posts, how fast takedown requests are handled and who carries responsibility for code breaches; our UGC contract template has clause wording to adapt.
- Disclose the relationship upfront in the wording your audience's country expects.
- Keep the brief, approvals, age settings and audience screenshots together for at least the life of the campaign.
- Walk away if a brand asks you to skip age gates, aim at younger followers, hide the ad or promote an operator you cannot verify.
Limitations of this guide
This is general information, not legal advice. ABAC, the AANA codes, DISCUS and the AGA code are industry self-regulation; the ACMA, TGA and health department rules and the UK regime have legal force behind them, and US state law adds its own layer for gambling and alcohol that this page does not map. Penalty figures are maximums quoted by the regulator, not typical outcomes. Platform policies change often, and TikTok's country lists in particular are long and specific. We have summarised codes rather than reproduced them, so read the full text before signing, and get advice from a lawyer in the relevant country for any gambling or vaping deal.