Paddy Power Advertisement Ban For Gambling Taking Priority

15 June 2022
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An advert for Paddy Power has actually been banned for motivating recurring betting, by showing it taking priority over household.


The advert includes a lady asking her sweetheart "Do you think I'll end up appearing like my mum?".


He, distracted by a gambling app, responds "I hope so".


The company said it accepted the decision from the advertising regulator and would consider the assistance it had actually been offered.


Shown in March 2022 across TV and online, the ad showed the male being in a living-room next to his girlfriend, whilst using his phone to play one of the company's wagering games.


His girlfriend's mother brings the couple a drink, after which his sweetheart positions the concern to which the guy reacts without believing, while continuing to stare at his phone. Following his girlfriend's incredulous stare, the man returns, embarrassed, to playing the wagering video game.


The advert's narrator then states: "So no matter how severely you stuff it up, you'll always get another possibility with Paddy Power video games".


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The advertisement received three grievances from audiences, all of which were supported. One plaintiff stated the advertisement showed the guy was so preoccupied with gambling it had led him to make an "improper remark".


The UK's marketing guard dog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) stated the advertisement "motivated repetitive gaming" since it "represented gaming as taking concern in life, over family".


A Paddy Power representative informed the BBC the firm was "devoted to accountable practice and it is always our intention to comply with the Advertising Codes. We accept the choice of the ASA and will consider its wider assistance moving forwards".


The plaintiffs to the ASA thought that the guy was portrayed as letting betting take priority over his family life and was "socially irresponsible".


Paddy Power safeguarded itself to the ASA, arguing that the ad suggested a "dedication to domesticity", given that it depicted the scene of a traditional family setting, with the male joining his girlfriend's parents for Sunday lunch, and was planned to be "light-hearted".


The ASA told Paddy Power that its adverts could not represent betting as "taking priority in life, or portray, excuse or motivate gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible", which the adverts could no longer be displayed in their existing form.


Clearcast, the company accountable for clearing adverts before broadcast in the UK, said that it accepted the ASA ruling, and will take the assistance in to factor to consider when clearing future gaming ads.


The ruling follows a broader project by the ASA to clamp down on socially careless marketing and use harder guidelines for gambling marketing in particular.