Paddy Power Ad Ban For Gambling Taking Priority

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


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


He, sidetracked by a gaming app, responds "I hope so".


The company stated it accepted the decision from the marketing regulator and would consider the assistance it had been offered.


Displayed in March 2022 throughout TV and online, the ad showed the male sitting in a living-room next to his girlfriend, whilst using his phone to play one of the company's betting games.


His sweetheart's mom brings the couple a drink, after which his sweetheart postures the question to which the male reacts without believing, while continuing to look at his phone. Following his girlfriend's incredulous gaze, the man returns, embarrassed, to playing the betting video game.


The advert's narrator then specifies: "So no matter how badly you pack it up, you'll constantly get another chance with Paddy Power games".


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The advertisement got 3 problems from viewers, all of which were maintained. One complainant stated the advertisement revealed the male was so preoccupied with gambling it had led him to make an "unsuitable remark".


The UK's marketing watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad "encouraged recurring betting" because it "portrayed betting as taking top priority in life, over household".


A Paddy Power spokesperson told the BBC the firm was "dedicated to responsible practice and it is constantly our objective to adhere to the Advertising Codes. We accept the choice of the ASA and will consider its more comprehensive assistance moving forwards".


The complainants to the ASA believed that the man was depicted as letting gaming take concern over his domesticity and was "socially reckless".


Paddy Power protected itself to the ASA, arguing that the ad indicated a "commitment to family life", since it depicted the scene of a traditional family setting, with the man joining his sweetheart's parents for Sunday lunch, and was intended to be "light-hearted".


The ASA told Paddy Power that its adverts could not portray betting as "taking priority in life, or represent, condone or motivate gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible", which the adverts might no longer be revealed in their present kind.


Clearcast, the company responsible for clearing adverts before broadcast in the UK, stated that it accepted the ASA judgment, and will take the guidance in to factor to consider when clearing future gaming ads.


The judgment follows a wider project by the ASA to clamp down on socially irresponsible advertising and apply harder guidelines for betting advertising in particular.