UK Online Gambling Ad Ordered Pulled for Age Confusion

An online gambling ad was ordered pulled in the UK by regulators for featuring a 20-year-old poker champion, seen as a ploy to attract underage players.

The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK is once again rejecting gaming ads, this time an online gambling advertisement featuring a world champion poker player. The ASA says Betfair's ad using World Series of Poker Europe winner Annette Obrestad might confuse children because it uses her online ID, "Annette_15."

The ASA released a statement saying that Betfair, "by representing a successful young poker player with the implication she was 15 years old, ...could encourage young people to gamble and was therefore irresponsible".

Obrestad is currently 20, and won the WSOPE at age 18. But the ASA's written requirements demand all persons appearing in gambling marketing be at least 25.

Betfair responded that Obrestad was chosen because "of her standing as a poker professional and champion who had had a profound effect on the game." The online gambling operator denied her young age was in any way a factor in her selection.

The ad did feature a tagline saying, "Online experience is measured in games, not years. Join the new breed. Annette_15".

"We noted the code stated that no one under 25 years of age should be featured gambling in a marketing communication, or playing a significant role," said an ASA statement. "Because Ms Obrestad was 20 years old and because, as a professional poker player, she played a significant role in gambling in the ad, we concluded the ad breached the provisions of the code."