Coral, Bet365 and Totesport targeted as ASA cracks down on social media gambling ads
A flurry of gambling ads that appeared on social media have been censured by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for featuring an image of someone under the age of 25.
Posts by Coral, Bet365 and Totesport were all investigated by the ASA as part of wider ongoing work to ensure gambling ads stick to the strict rules designed to protect young people.
All three betting sites included an image of 22-year old professional golfer Jordan Spieth, which the ASA said was irresponsible and breached the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code, which says that no one who is, or looks to be, under 25 can be featured playing a significant role in marketing communications, other than on a gambling operator’s own website.
The gambling companies all defended the tweets and said they were editorial content.
The ASA disagreed and said Spieth played a significant role in the posts, which were not in places where a bet could be placed on channels such as a brand website.
All three of the ads must not appear again in their current form.
As a result of the ASAs monitoring CAP will be updating its advice to advertisers and the regulator said it will be communicating to the sector “the ramifications of these rulings”.