ASA raps BetVictor over Alba and Busquets ad

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has ordered BetVictor to remove the ad.

UK.- The Advertising Standards Authority has ordered BetVictor to remove a social media advert for breaching the Committee on Advertising Practice‘s (CAP) new rules on content featuring public figures.

The paid post featured two Barcelona players, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, together with the caption stating “Who is the most underrated player at the club you support?” and the BetVictor logo. The ASA ruled that because Alba and Busquets are active players at a prominent club, the ad breached the CAP’s ban on the use of public figures who appeal to under-18s.

BetVictor argued that Barcelona was not a UK team and that Alba and Busquets were not so widely known among young people in the UK in comparison with strikers. It noted that they had far fewer searches than major players and that neither had scored for the Spanish team against England, Wales or Scotland.

The operator also pointed out that it had posted the ad on Instagram and Twitter, not platforms such as TikTok, Twitch or Snapchat, which have younger audiences.

However, the ASA ruled that both Alba and Busquets could be considered star players and that the post counted as an advert rather than a post because it was paid for, a detail that the operator said was to ensure the ad was targeted only at over 25s.

It said: “BetVictor said that whilst they understood the post was considered by the ASA as an ad because it was paid-for, the post had been designed to engage people in conversation about topics they would be interested in. 

“They said that there were no comments, links or calls to action back to betting sites or logos in the post (other than their own). They said it had only been paid-for to ensure the ad had been appropriately targeted to users aged 25 and over. They said data they had from Facebook showed that 100% of the post’s viewers were over the age of 25.”

The ASA’s decision shows how strictly it will interpret the CAP’s new rules, with this being the first time it has ruled against an ad featuring players who don’t play for teams in the UK.

Back in February, the ASA rejected complaints received about the use of former footballers Peter Crouch and Micah Richards in adverts for two sports betting brands. It had received complaints about Paddy Power television ads featuring Peter Crouch and a Sky Bet tweet featuring Micah Richards.

Crouch appeared in two TV ads broadcast in November while the Sky Bet promoted tweet was published in October 2022. In both cases, the ASA received two complaints.