ASA bans Ladbrokes tweet for featuring Jake Paul

A tweet by sports betting operator Ladbrokes featuring the social media personality Jake Paul has been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The tweet in question was a poll released in lieu of Paul’s split decision loss to professional boxer Tommy Fury. Accompanied by an image of Paul himself post-fight, the poll asked viewers to vote as to which endeavour Paul should undertake next.

Why was it banned?

The issue the ASA took with this communication was that as a social media influencer of strong note, Jake Paul has a significant influence among many individuals under 18. Paul has 20 million subscribers on the Google-owned social media streaming platform Youtube, of which a solid proportion are known to be teenagers. What’s more, the ASA pointed to Paul’s association with a television programme which is explicitly aimed at children and is still readily available to Ladbroke’s target audience in the UK. This kind of influence may entice underage persons to engage in gambling activities before they possess the adequate tools to partake responsibly, and is therefore against advertising guidelines applied to gambling operators’ marketing communications.

Ladbrokes’ Response

In its defence, Ladbrokes made a statement explaining that the tweet was released subsequent to Paul and Fury’s bout and most notably did not contain any links to betting activities or even communication of promotional offers. Furthermore, the tweet itself was age-gated, a feature that prevents users reported to be under the age of 18 from accessing inappropriate material. This reply was dismissed by the ASA which re-iterated its initial stance, that the advertisement was irresponsible and a breach of code. According to the ASA the post must not appear again and the inclusion of individuals with a strong presence within the under-18 demographic must not appear in these related communications.

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