Online casino ad breached rules
Updated on 07 January 2009
Television commercials for an online casino which showed thrill-seeking characters leaping to their deaths broke advertising rules, the regulator has said.
Two adverts for ladbrokescasino.com "portrayed gambling in a context of toughness, and linked it to excessive risk taking and reckless behaviour", according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Ladbrokes said it would seek to have the ruling overturned and accused the regulator of "ruling against using humour in gambling advertisements".
The first advert showed a diver taking more and more extreme risks before attaching raw bacon and sausages to his wet suit and leaping into shark infested waters dressed in a seal costume.
The second showed a sky diver jumping from a plane attempting to use a crisp packet as a parachute.
Both commercials finished with the line: "If only he'd seen ladbrokescasino.com it would have quenched his thrill buds."
The ASA received one complaint from a member of the public.
Although the regulator found the adverts were "humorous", "unrealistic", and in effect "cautionary tales", it upheld the allegation they breached the CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code by linking gambling to toughness, risk taking and reckless behaviour.
However, it rejected further allegations that the ads encouraged people to gamble irresponsibly or that they could exploit vulnerable people.
The ASA said the adverts must not be broadcast again in their current form. Ladbrokes said it would lodge a request for a review of the ruling with the Independent Reviewer of ASA Adjudications.
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