The United Kingdom’s advertising regulatory body, the ASA, investigated a bet365 promotion featuring football player Granit Xhaka. They deemed it inappropriate due to concerns about its potential appeal to young audiences, deeming it irresponsible.
This incident highlights the delicate balance advertisers must strike when utilizing celebrities who might be popular with individuals under 18 years of age – those not yet legally permitted to engage in gambling.
The advertisement in question appeared on Sky Sports’ Premier League X (formerly known as Twitter) account and displayed footage of Xhaka scoring a spectacular goal against Manchester United. It was enhanced with digital effects and, naturally, prominently featured the bet365 logo.
The ASA didn’t just happen upon this; their sophisticated AI-driven ad monitoring system identified it as potentially violating regulations. Their primary concern centered around whether Xhaka’s inclusion in the advertisement would particularly resonate with underage individuals.
Bet365 attempted to deflect responsibility, claiming that Sky Sports created the advertisement and that they utilized Twitter’s targeting mechanisms to ensure it was only displayed to users over 25. They also contended that Xhaka doesn’t hold significant appeal for younger demographics.
However, the ASA remained unconvinced. They emphasized that by promoting the tweet, bet365 essentially adopted it as their own and were therefore accountable for its content.
The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) prohibited a bet365 promotion showcasing Granit Xhaka due to concerns about its potential allure to children. The ASA reasoned that football’s immense popularity among youth, coupled with Xhaka’s prominence as a player for Arsenal and the Swiss national team, could make the advertisement particularly attractive to individuals under 18.
Furthermore, the ASA criticized bet365’s age verification mechanisms, deeming them inadequate in effectively preventing minors from viewing the advertisement.
Consequently, the ASA determined that the promotion violated regulations and instructed bet365 (specifically, their Hillside subsidiary) to cease featuring individuals or figures popular among children in their gambling advertisements. The advertisement, in its current iteration, is no longer permitted for display.
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