UK Advertising Watchdog Rejects Online Casino Ad
The Advertising Standards Authority has ordered Requestabet.com to withdraw an advertisement comparing online gambling to investments such as the stock market and banking. The ASA is a British government agency which monitors advertising by online casinos and gambling sites to assure compliance to codes.
Requestabet.com had produced a poster linking soccer betting to other choices such as buying stocks or investing in property, treating betting as a viable alternative. The ASA says that the ad breaks rules against portraying gambling as a viable way to increase savings.
But some say that comparing gambling to investing in the stock market doesn't imply positive gains are likely. Media analyst Howard Bunker says, "Ads linking gambling and casinos to buying homes and stock shares should be seen as tongue-in-cheek. The ad does not necessarily convey that gambling will increase one's wealth, but points out the irony of believing that other choices are safe and prudent."
Bunker went on to assert that it would be hard for a skilled gambler to lose as high a percentage of his wealth as mutual fund managers have been able to do over the last year, and it's unreasonable for the ASA to not realize the humor in advertisements.
According to Bunker and other media commentators, the ASA is repeating the case when it forced Ladbrokes to withdraw an ad comparing the thrills of gambling to swimming with sharks. Ads, they say, must be viewed in the context designed, and humorous ads cannot be judged as if preposterous claims are meant seriously.
