Betting firm breached new ad rule

New gambling advertising rules came into force on 1 September

A press advertisement that linked online betting with increased sexual prowess has become one of the first to breach new tighter gambling codes.

The UK Advertising Standards Authority said Paddy Power was "irresponsible" to suggest gambling won admiration.

The advert for financial spread betting featured a man drinking champagne in a limousine, flanked by two women.

Paddy Power said the promotion targeted a "very specific" audience who would understand its "whimsical" nature.

The ASA also upheld a second complaint about a series of television adverts for InterCasino, a Malta-based internet casino, which featured slapstick humour. It agreed they were likely to appeal to children.

We concluded the ad suggested this man's 'shortcoming' had been overcome by the wealth he had acquired through gambling Advertising Standards Authority

The rulings are the first after a new code was introduced on 1 September last year to coincide with the new Gambling Act.

Advertising rules were tightened as gambling websites, bookmakers and casinos were permitted to publicise themselves on TV for the first time.

Advert withdrawn

The Paddy Power advert featured a short man and the text: "Who says you can't make money being short?"

Upholding a complaint, the ASA said the advert had suggested the man's self esteem had been transformed by his financial success, which appeared to have come from gambling.

"We concluded the ad suggested this man's 'shortcoming' had been overcome by the wealth he had acquired through gambling and therefore that the ad implied gambling was a way to improve self-esteem or gain recognition or admiration.

"We concluded the ad was irresponsible."

In its defence, Paddy Power said the advert was specifically aimed at those who would have understood the term "being short" referred to financial spread betting.

The scene also attempted to re-enact a scene from Oliver Stone's film Wall Street, the company said.

It has now withdrawn the advert from all UK media outlets.

The InterCasino adverts were considered after the ASA against monitored television commercials in September and October 2007 to check compliance with its new rules.

The ASA said the adverts would appeal to children and young people because they featured small characters wearing costumes and participating in gameshow-style activities similar to Japanese programme Takeshi's Castle.

They breached advertising rules because they depicted juvenile behaviour, it said.

InterCasino maintained the humour was not intended to be juvenile and said the advertisements were designed to fit its "fun and relatively light-hearted" brand.