ASA censures Coral, Bet365 and Totesport For Gambling Tweets


Wednesday October 28, 2015 : ONLINE BETTING FIRMS CENSURED BY A.S.A.
 
Social media adverts criticised for featuring under-25 years of age images.
 
The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has censured three online gambling firms – Coral, Bet365 and Totesport – for social gaming tweets that featured an image of someone under the age of 25.
 
The Drum marketing magazine reports that 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.
 
The code rules 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.
 
All three betting firms defended the complaint, claiming the posts were editorial content, but the Authority disagreed and found that Spieth played a significant role in the posts, which were not in places where a bet could be placed on channels such as a branded website.