The UK Advertising Standards Authority has cleared Betfair after a complaint accused the company of airing an ad that was heard by a minor. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Betfair cleared

Betfair has been cleared by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a complaint that an ad had been broadcast at a time when children could hear it.

The ASA was contacted by one complainant about the advertisement, which was broadcast on Radio X on September 3. 

The timing, rather than the content of the ad, was the focus of the complaint.

The ad, which was for Betfair’s free to play “Prize Pinball” game, was broadcast during the Chris Moyles show early in the morning. The timing, rather than the content of the ad, was the focus of the complaint.

Radio guidance

PPB Entertainment, which oversees Betfair as part of Flutter Entertainment, responded by denying the claims and stating that the ad had been cleared by Radiocentre, a commercial radio organization.

Radiocentre states that gambling ads should not run on stations aimed at under-18s, but research showed that 88% of Radio X’s audience consisted of listeners over the age of 25. Radiocentre’s guidance also noted that the station focused on “classic rock, indie and alternative music for 25- to 44-year-olds” and did not focus on new releases that would attract younger listeners.

Crucially, the ad was also not broadcast linearly, but was further targeted to older listeners who were registered as being over 25 and were tuning in from a digital device.

the complainant had heard the ad over a smart speaker

The ASA mostly agreed with PPB’s response, noting that the complainant had heard the ad over a smart speaker, on which they would have been targeted due to being registered as over 25 on the device.

The ASA did note, however, that because it was a weekday morning before a school day, there was a strong possibility that a minor may have been listening. Broadcasting figures showed, though, that just 6% of listeners of Radio X at the time were under the age of 18.

No action taken

In the ruling, the ASA stated: “Relevant timing restrictions must be applied to advertisements that, through their content, might harm children of particular ages or that were otherwise unsuitable for them.”

“The ASA understood that the ad promoted an online gambling product, and as such, we considered that it would need to be appropriately scheduled and away from times when children aged under 18 years were likely to be listening.

“We considered that the scheduling advice given by Radiocentre was appropriate and that, given the low proportion of under-18s listening, it had been applied responsibly by the broadcasters.”

As a result, PPB and Betfair were cleared of any wrongdoing and the complaint was dismissed.