New CAP ruling to ban celebrities who appeal to under-18s
Ruling will clamp down on the use of footballers, celebrities and influencers promoting gambling
The Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) has released new restrictions that ban prominent sports figures, celebrities and influencers from advertising gambling products.
The rules have been brought in predominantly to protect young people and vulnerable audiences.
The codes state that gambling and lottery ads must not “be of strong appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture”.
The ruling prohibits operators from using advertising of appeal to children, which includes “topflight footballers and footballers with a considerable following among under-18’s on social media”, “all sportspeople well-known to under-18s”, “references to video game content and gameplay popular with under-18s” and “stars from reality TV shows popular with under-18s”.
Under the prior framework, gambling ads are prohibited from appealing specifically to minors, with the new rules employing a more proscriptive framework that will likely see more operators running foul of CAP codes in the future.
The revised ‘strong’ appeal definition will focus principally on imagery, themes and characters being used by operators in gambling ads. However, it will not restrict simple references to sports, good causes, teams or individuals generally considered popular with under-18s.
While no specifics on the approach employed by CAP have been released, assessment is likely to consist of their general profile among the public and with under-18s, taking into account various aspects relating to a characters’ behaviour, the language they use, as well as their humour and fashion.
In its prior October 2020 consultation, the ASA said it would likely consider the context the personality is best associated with (for example, as a sportsperson or entertainer) and their likely under-18 following. This approach may also include metrics such as social media following.
The ban is to be implemented on 1 October and could impact current campaigns including Paddy Power’s Jose Mourinho adverts, Neymar Jr’s with PokerStars and BetVictor’s with Michael Owen.
Shahriar Coupal, director of CAP, said: “The days of gambling ads featuring sports stars, video game imagery and other content of strong appeal to under-18s are numbered.
“By ending these practices, our new rules invite a new era for gambling ads, more particular to the adult audience they can target and more befitting of the age-restricted product they are promoting,” Coupal added.
Gambling advertising viewed by underage individuals has dropped dramatically over the last two years, with 29 advertisements belonging to three operators being singled out by the ASA in its fourth monitoring sweep of the advertising industry in July 2021.
The ASA has also employed a number of new tools and pilots targeting gambling ads, including the use of avatar technology to isolate advertisements on social media networks and streaming sites including YouTube.