ASA ruling against Betway

A YouTube advert for Betway received a complaint challenging whether by featuring the Chelsea FC logo the ad was strong appeal to under 18’s, against the advertising rules on gambling. The ad depicted football fans wearing clothing and scarves with the Chelsea FC logo.

The Advertising Standards Authority (‘ASA’) upheld the complaint stating that it would have been acceptable for the logo to appear at the end of the ad in a standalone context. It said that the logo appearing at the end of the ad would have acted as a visual reference to the subject of gambling.

The ASA also highlighted that the ad appeared on YouTube, where statistics show that 81% of 8-17 year olds on social media used YouTube. Those statistics also demonstrated that 20% of 8-17 year olds had a registered user age of at least 18. In light of these statistics the ASA considered that there was a significant number of children who had not used their actual age when signing up to YouTube which meant that under 18’s were able to see and access content made for over 18’s.