Too Little, Too Late
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK has banned a Betfair
advertisement on the basis that the online casino poker gambling company was
targeting advertisements toward underage gamblers. Betfair has acknowledged that
the advertisements were not intended for the UK market and has willingly pulled
all ads that feature Annette Obrestad without fighting the ASA for the ruling.
The current concern rising in the market though is the fear that the damage has
already been done and yet there have been no repercussions for Betfair’s very
blatant and obvious mistake on this online casino poker advertising campaign.
Other online casinos and internet poker gambling companies have made mistakes in
the past several years following the slightly imprecise and interpretable
policies in place as a part of the 2005 UK Gambling Act. But the difference in
this case is the fact that Betfair knew that the advertisements were grossly
unacceptable for use in the UK market and that they violated CAP Code because of
the clear and blatant age issue with Annette Obrestad as the spokesperson.
The ASA has only given Betfair a mild slap on the wrist and asked that the ads
featuring Obrestad be completely pulled. With the damage already done though,
and the ad has already obtained a lot of widespread visibility in the market and
exposure before the ASA got involved, some of the online casino gambling
community are asking for harsher punishments for internet gambling companies
that clearly violate advertising standards. At this point the situation is
likely a moot point but perhaps in the coming years the ASA will develop more
stringent standards regarding repercussions for companies running inappropriate
adverts in the UK. |