ASA Bans Ladbrokes Advert
Gambling operators have to tread very cautiously when it comes to advertisements and the latest big name to fall foul of the regulations is Ladbrokes. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that their advert, which aired in April, was socially irresponsible and as a result, were told to remove the ad and ensure no further adverts did not depict socially irresponsible gambling behaviour.
Socially Irresponsible Advert
The advert in question began with the commentary “I’m a nodder, up to the football, down to the app like a dog on a dashboard.” It then showed a man at the train station, with his mobile phone, using the Ladbrokes app. The voiceover continued “When I bet, I’m a frustrated manager. I kick every ball”. In the next scene, you see fans jumping and cheering as their team scored a goal, but then as the VAR was reviewing it, they became nervous and tense.
The complaint that was made to the ASA claimed the advert showed people who were addicted to gambling. Claiming they were more worried about placing bets and their subsequent outcomes, rather than enjoying the game itself. As a result, they felt the advert was socially irresponsible and broke the rules of the ASA.
ASA Upheld Complaint
Despite Ladbrokes defending their advert, claiming it showed the excitement of football, the ASA disagreed and upheld the complaint. They felt the advert showed characters that were more concerned with placing bets rather than enjoying the football and that the second part of the ad showed a change of mood when the results were being review by the VAR.
The ASA also said that the commentary that went with the advert, could be interpreted as punters being more excited about winning a bet rather than their team winning the match.
They said “We considered that mood swings related to gambling was a problem gambling behaviour. Because the ad appeared to depict a major mood swing and directly related it to the tension of potentially winning an accumulator rather than just watching sports, we considered that the ad depicted problem gambling behaviour. For those reasons, we concluded that the ad depicted gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible and therefore, breached the code.”
This isn’t the first time Ladbrokes have been sanctioned over their adverts. In October 2020, they aired an ad showing a man in a Cafe with his legs shaking and the voiceover ‘Come starters orders, I’m a bag of nerves’. The ASA also ruled that it showed a player who was nervous and more concerned with the outcome of a bet.
