Today, the Advertising Standards Authority posted a ruling on a complaint that has been filed against the Gibraltar-based gambling operator SJU Ltd.
The complainant said that they seen a TV advert of the brand on July 2nd, which was socially irresponsible due to the fact it presented gambling activities as absolutely necessary. The TV ad on which the complaint was based featured a horse with a black background and a voice-over that stated that everything that matters is to put a bet on it.
SJU Ltd responded to the accusations, saying that horse racing has always been associated with gambling in both a historical and cultural aspect when it came to the UK gambling legislation. The brand cited the country’s laws on the matter, commenting that The Horserace Betting Levy Board was established back in 1961.
In addition, the Gibraltar-based company stated that the voice-over referred closely to horse racing and gambling and suggested to the TV ad viewers that they could involve themselves deeper in horse racing activities by placing a bet but it did not urge potential customers to interpret these activities as absolutely necessary and irreplaceable.
Moreover, SJU cited the CAP guidance associated with the gambling advertisements rules that said that it is actually acceptable for companies to present gambling operations as important and particularly attractive to users, as long as they do not suggest that any other activity should be excluded.
After investigating and assessing the case under BCAP Code rules 1.2, 17.3 and 17.3.4 associated with Social responsibility and Gambling, respectively, the Advertising Standards Authority did not upheld the complaint made by the user against SJU Ltd. The regulatory body revealed that the TV advert was promoting horse racing betting operations, which had been found appealing to the players who were fans of this kind of sport.
According to the ASA, users would realise that the voice-over of the advert only presented SJU’s point of view related to the importance of horse races betting, but it did not suggest that these activities were absolutely necessary for players. And to be more precise, the regulatory watchdog also said that the voice-over was primarily addressing the positive sides of gambling that is usually experienced by the customers, but it renounced the complainant’s claims that the Gibraltar-based company’s ad portrayed gambling as indispensable.
No further actions were initiated by the Advertising Standards Authority on this case.
- Author
Daniel Williams
