Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Festival Free Bets
Where: United Kingdom
When: 15 May 2024
Law stated as at: 30 May 2024
What happened:
An ad featuring an image of influencer Astrid Wett at Cheltenham racecourse was held to be in breach of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP Code).
The complainant had challenged the ad for Festival Free Bets, a company which collates betting offers, on the basis that it breached the rules on gambling advertising for featuring Astrid Wett, who is under 25 years old.
Festival Free Bets did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
The company was found to be in breach of rules 1.3 (social responsibility) and rule 1.7 (unreasonable delay – for not responding to the ASA’s enquiries).
The CAP Code states that marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. Rule 16.3.14 also prevents anyone who is (or seems to be) under 25 years old from gambling or playing a significant role in marketing communications.
The ASA acknowledged that, although Festival Free Bets is not itself a licensed gambling provider, by using Festival Free Bet’s betting service, consumers would be in a position where they would be interacting with gambling services. The ASA therefore considered it irresponsible for the company to feature someone aged below 25 playing a significant role in their ads.
The ad, therefore, cannot appear again in the form complained of and the matter has been referred to CAP’s compliance team. Festival Free Bets have been warned to ensure they do not feature individuals who are, or seem to be under 25 years old playing a significant role in marketing communications for services that would lead consumers to interact with gambling providers.
Astrid Wett stated that she was unaware of the age restrictions outlined in the CAP Code for gambling service advertising and had assumed that being 18 years old was adequate for promoting such content. She apologised for the breach of the code and expressed her commitment to social responsibility.
Why this matters:
This ruling shows the increased scrutiny of the use of influencers in advertising, particularly where their presence is used to appeal to young people and especially when promoting age-restricted products.
Those advertising age-restricted products must be aware that those playing a significant role must both be and look over the age of 25.
Astrid Wett’s admission of ignorance of the gambling rules also demonstrate the information gap that exists and the need for all those involved in advertising age-restricted products to ensure compliance with the rules.
