It seems there is no problem for gambling brands to use sports personalities in order to advertise their services. In some of its last rulings, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of the UK has determined that two gambling ads featuring a couple of former England international football players were unlikely to be found particularly appealing to individuals under the age of 18.
The rulings were announced only a month after the advertising regulatory body upheld a complaint linked to a Twitter post published by the UK gambling and sports betting operator Ladbrokes that featured images of several professional football players that currently play in the English Premier League (EPL).
At the time, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the tweet violated its new advertising guidance for non-broadcast and broadcast called “Gambling and Lotteries Advertising: Protecting Under-18s”, under which gambling operators in the country are required to make sure that their adverts are not found attractive by children and young people.
Last week, the advertising watchdog of the country sided with Paddy Power and Sky Bet in two separate disputes over complaints that the two companies’ advertisements breached the aforementioned rules of the regulator by featuring retired top-tier football players Peter Crouch and Micah Richards.
According to Pinsent Masons’ senior adviser Scott Oxley, these rulings are offering valuable insight into how the advertising watchdog might apply the “strong appeal” test and proves that not all sports personalities are off limits for local gambling operators. As explained by Mr Oxley, gambling brands still have to be very careful in order to make sure that they collaborate only with sports individuals who are not likely to be of any particular appeal to individuals under 18 years of age.
Sky Bet Targeted by Complainants for Using Micah Richards to Promote Services
The advertising watchdog of the country also investigated an advertised tweet for Sky Bet that featured an image of former footballer Micah Richards. The advert was challenged by two complainants who claimed that it breached the UK Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, also known as the CAP Code.
As previously reported by Casino Guardian, under an October 2022 update of the Code, gambling operators must make sure that their products’ marketing communications are not likely to be of strong appeal to underage individuals. This is exactly why they are not allowed to feature a person or character that may be associated with youth culture or is popular among children and young persons.
The company, however, rejected the claims of the two complainants, saying that Micah Richards was a retired football player who was now more widely known as a football expert. That is why it was highly unlikely for Mr Richards’ persona to be found particularly appealing by children in 2022, especially considering the fact that he had no active public accounts on TikTok, Twitch, or YouTube as proven by a series of preliminary due diligence tests.
The Advertising Standards Authority agreed with Sky Bet’s position, explaining that there was nothing in the way the former footballer was presented in the advert that would have been found strongly attractive by children under the age of 18. The regulatory body also highlighted the fact that the current work of Mr Richards as a columnist for the Daily Mail, his autobiography, and his participation in Auto Trader ads were all adult-focused.
Paddy Power Attacked for Featuring Peter Crouch in Christmas-Themed Ad
As mentioned above, the ASA has also been recently approached by two complaints from viewers who claimed that Paddy Power’s ads featuring former professional footballer Peter Crouch in two versions of a Christmas-themed TV ad in November 2022 violated the rules of the so-called BCAP Code – the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising.
Under the rules of the BCAP Code, gambling operators need to make sure that the adverts for their products are not likely to be found particularly appealing to children under the age of 15 or young periods aged 16-17 by reflecting or creating associations with youth culture. As mentioned above, that is why gambling companies are not allowed to feature a person or character who is likely to be recognisable or found attractive by under-18s.
At the time when it responded to the complaints, Paddy Power highlighted the fact that Mr Crouch was currently recognised as a football expert and entertainer than as a former player from the English Premier League after he ended his career as an active footballer in 2019. The company also cited the BCAP guidance on underage individuals protection, which states that long-retired football players who were currently known as football experts were not considered as high risk of strong appeal to children and young people.
The gambling operator explained that it had made a detailed assessment of Peter Crouch’s social media before the adverts were aired. The investigation found that the former football player did not have public accounts on TikTok, Twitch, or Facebook and that his account on Instagram had not been updated since 2014.
After investigating the matter, the Advertising Standards Authority found that the ads were focused on Chrismas, which was why they were more likely to be found appealing by underage individuals. However, the ad did not refer to certain aspects of Christmas that would be of strong appeal to children. On the contrary, it depicted adults and was not targetting children and young adults.
- Author
Daniel Williams
