There are many points of view when it comes to the level of responsibility needed to keep within the advertising standards regulation in the gambling industry in the United Kingdom. Gambling operators are always attempting to stay within the suggested guidelines which are open to interpretation and scrutiny from the Advertising Standards Authority in the U.K.
A recent complaint was looked at by the ASA in regards to a television advert created for the Ladbrokes online gambling and sports betting brand of operator Entain after determining that one of its commercials had breached local responsible marketing guidelines.
The details were explained by the ASA describing what the Gibraltar located LC International Limited trading as Ladbrokes had broadcast an advertisement in October of 2020 featuring various people using mobile phones to place wagers on a horse race while sitting in a café. It was explained that one of these players had been depicted as a distracted man with a trembling leg accompanied by a voice-over that asserted ‘Come starter’s orders, I’m a bag of nerves.’
The regulator said the TV ad broke the code of conduct by portraying ‘gambling behavior that was socially irresponsible’ with the player apparently ‘preoccupied with the race while his food remained untouched ’and that the voice over comment ‘bag of nerves’ suggested the gambler was ‘engrossed in the race to the extent that his companion had to point out his actions to bring his attention away from watching the television.’
Ladbrokes did fight back on the complaint saying the ad pictured normal every-day situations and the comment voice over referred to the natural nervousness that often accompanies the beginning of a sporting event. Ladbrokes also claimed ‘the scene in question did not actually depict gambling’
After a long explanation as to why the regulator considered this ad a breach of its code detailed in an official press release the ASA told LC International Ltd Ladbrokes to ensure future ads did not depict gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible, such as detachment from surroundings and preoccupation with gambling.
