In shocking news, a SportsBet ad has been found to portray excessive gambling. The betting agency has had one of its campaigns pulled after Ad Standards’ found that it breached health and safety regulations and laws regarding the promotion of excessive wagering.
The ad in question depicts a man watching racing on his phone while on a golf course. A voice-over states, “Nobody does it easier than Tee Time Tim Callaghan. He streams Sky Racing on the Sportsbet app. All while tackling the Southern Hemisphere’s scariest slice. Yep. Whether he’s driving a buggy or trying to dig one out of a bunker, this Sultan of swing doesn’t miss a second”.
The spot was reported to ad standards with reports that it was sending the wrong message about road safety. “Bloke looking at phone while playing golf. Commentary with words to the effect – you’ll never miss a thing whether you’re taking a swing or driving a (golf) buggy… my complaint is that people are being encouraged to use a phone while driving a conveyence. I acknowledge the golf course is not a road. However, the advertisement sends the wrong message about driving and road safety,” the complaint detailed.
Sportsbet disagreed with any suggestion that the ad breached Section 2.6 of the AANA Code of Ethics, which declares that advertising material must not depict information or activity contrary to prevailing health and safety standards.
“The Advertisement does not depict any material that could be said to be contrary to prevailing community standards on health and safety. Rather, the Advertisement depicts a group of golfers participating in a round of golf while occasionally watching Sky Racing through the Sportsbet platform at different sections of the course,” the advertiser said in response to the complaints.
“The intent of the advertisement is to be portrayed as humorous and light-hearted and does not actually depict any person driving a golf buggy and watching Sky Racing at the same time or using a mobile phone (rather, the main character in the Advertisement Tee Time Tim, is a passenger in a golf buggy)”.
The panel noted the complainant’s concern that the advertisement encouraged the use of a phone while driving. While the advertisement does not depict the man with the phone driving, the voice-over describes the character as watching racing on his phone while driving, therefore creating the overall impression that he is using his phone while operating a vehicle.
The panel determined that the advertisement was contrary to public messaging around driver safety and to prevailing community standards on safety when using a moving vehicle, even when not on a public road. Considering this, it was found that the ad breached Section 2.6 of the Code.
The panel also found that the portrayed “excessive” participation in wagering activities breached 2.8 of the wagering code. While the spot doesn’t actually show the man engaging in betting, the panel determined that it is unlikely that anyone would watch racing through a wagering app without having a bet on the outcome of the races.
The panel upheld the complaint, finding the advertisement to breach both sections 2.6 and 2.6 of the code of ethics.
Sportsbet has since removed the campaign from all media channels, including social pages.