The Irish Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld two complaints against TonyBet after it concluded two of the operator’s YouTube adverts depicted gambling in a positive manner or encouraged gambling.
One of the ads showed a man using his phone while sitting on a loo, with accompanying text stating:
“Only 3% of people can do this. Make money while sitting on the toilet.”
While a footnote did include a responsible gambling message with terms and conditions for the promotional offer, a complaint was made on the grounds the ad implied gambling was easy and downplayed its dangers.
The second advert saw a woman holding a baby, along with text stating: “It’s hard to pay my rent and take care of my babies.”
The same ad went on to show the woman made “€8,500 last month”. Like the previous ad, a responsible gambling message was displayed in a footnote.
Two complaints were made to the ASA about this ad, one arguing it depicted gambling as financially beneficial, and the other claiming the ad suggested that not only could gambling resolve financial difficulties but could also lead to activity that had the potential to become harmful.
In response to the first ad complaint, TonyBet said it took immediate action and discontinued non-compliant ads immediately.
Noting the advert was handled by a mobile affiliation partner that had been given internal marketing guidelines and training, the operator said the partner had expanded its staff and one of the new employees did not check the guidelines before uploading the ad.
TonyBet stressed they were fully committed to compliance, rules and regulations and that the launch was not the fault of the operator but a “mistake of a third-party employee”.
Regarding the second complaint, TonyBet gave the same reasons why the non-compliant advert was launched and that it was also taken down with immediate effect.
The ASA’s conclusion for the first ad was that the tagline “Make money while sitting on the toilet” had “strongly indicated” that gambling was a source of income and such a message could lead to players suffering financial harm.
The watchdog came to the same conclusion with the second ad due to its accompanying text: “I made €8,500 last month.”
An ASA statement read: “The council noted the requirements of the code that marketing communications for gambling should not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm, portray gambling as indispensable or as taking priority in life or suggest that solitary gambling is preferable to social gambling.”
The action required for both adverts was for them to not reappear in that form again.
At the end of 2024, the Irish ASA upheld a complaint about a TonyBet radio ad that did not direct listeners to a source of information for responsible gambling.
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The post Ireland’s ASA upholds two complaints against TonyBet YouTube adverts first appeared on EGR Intel.
Watchdog concludes both ads displayed gambling as a “source of income”, as operator claims mistake was due to a third-party employee
The post Ireland’s ASA upholds two complaints against TonyBet YouTube adverts first appeared on EGR Intel.