Appealing to Under 18s
Ladbrokes has been warned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after it ruled that a tweet by the operator about Jake Paul would appeal to under 18s. The company were found to have breached several rules and was warned not to run the ad or use similar promotional material again.
The controversial tweet was posted by the bookmaker back in February following Jake Paul’s boxing loss to Tommy Fury. The tweet featured a poll asking followers what Jake Paul should do next, with ‘Win the rematch’, ‘Head to MMA’, ‘Return to Youtube’, or ‘Join the WWE’ being the listed option.
The ASA has ruled that this would appeal to younger people, given Paul’s popularity among those under 18, especially on Youtube. In a statement, The ASA acknowledged that boxing is largely an adult sport with a low appeal among those under 18. However, they believed Paul’s popularity on social media, especially Youtube, has drawn plenty of attention to the sport.
They referenced Paul’s high-profile and the fact that he has a combined following of 65 million across his social media platforms. Around three million people under 18 are registered on these platforms, with Jake Paul being an extremely popular figure among them.
The ASA’s investigation into the advert determined that it had breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12 (Gambling). While no fine was issued, the company did issue a warning to Ladbrokes that they must not run ads with people that might appeal to minors.
Ladbrokes’ Response
Ladbrokes have responded to the investigation. The company has argued that there was no call to action for any of its gambling-related products used in the post and that it was relevant to sporting events. They also claimed that Twitter has a policy in place that ensures gambling adverts and pages are age-gated, meaning they can not be accessed by anyone aged under 25.
The operator accepted that Paul has a huge influence on social media but argued that his follower demographics show that only 16% of his Youtube subscribers were under the age of 18. They also said that numbers showed 0% of his Twitter followers were registered as under 18.
The ASA, while acknowledging elements of Ladbroke’s response, stuck with their initial assessment that the ad broke the rules, describing it as ‘irresponsible’.