The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has warned Bonne Terre LTD, trading as Sky Bet, over its marketing after an investigation found that a promoted tweet featuring Gary Neville may have a strong appeal to under 18s.
In the tweet, a video clip of The Overlap football podcast is featured showing Gary Neville discussing the teams that are in contention for the Premier League title. The Sky Bet logo featured heavily in the clip and at the end a message states “BROUGHT TO YOU BY SKY BET”. The caption for the video read “Is Gary changing his title prediction? Thanks to Man City, It seems @GNev2 is having a change of heart. Part three of The Overlap Fan Debate is out now ”.
As a result of Gary Neville’s involvement, the ASA found that the ad may have breached the advertising code as it featured an individual who may have strong appeal to those aged under 18.
Sky Bet Response
In its response to the ASA, Sky Bet stated that it felt the ad did not breach any rules as Gary Neville was not a person of interest to under 18s. The company stated that ‘The Overlap’ podcast was typically adult-oriented in theme and content with no content that would appeal to children.
The company noted that the main content of the featured episode focused on the opinions of pundits in relation to Premier League contenders and that this type of content had previously been deemed acceptable by the ASA in prior rulings. It stated that Neville was a long-retired footballer who would ordinarily fall outside the parameters of what the ASA would consider a former player who would appeal to minors.
Sky Bet also noted that 1.2% of The Overlap’s audience was aged 13-17, with that figure dropping to 0.5% for the advertised episode.
ASA Ruling
In its ruling the ASA accepted that while he had a strong presence on TV as a football pundit for both the Premier League and World Cup coverage, Neville was indeed a long-retired footballer. However, it noted that Neville had at least 135,000 followers who were aged under 18 on social media.
For this reason, the ASA ruled that the ad breached the code and should not appear again. No financial penalty was deemed necessary.
Ladbrokes Warnings
Earlier this year, the ASA warned Entain-owned Ladbrokes over its marketing as an investigation determined that two tweets relating to the Premier League could have a strong appeal to under 18s. It had also previously warned the same company following a promoted tweet featuring an image of Jake Paul after his defeat by Tommy Fury. In that case, the ASA also ruled that the tweet had a strong appeal to minors.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.