ASA Orders Betting Company to Keep Ages of Players in Ads 25 and Above

From the CAP News page:

September 28, 2009 (CAP Newswire) -- More trouble for the online gambling industry from the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA): Online gaming firm Betfair has been told that, in future ads, all ages of gamers must appear to be 25 or older.

The issue came from a recent Betfair email ad that showed a photo of a young woman stating that “online experience is measured in games, not years. Join the new breed. Annette Obrestad - ‘Annette—15’.”

Though Obrestad is in fact 21 (and considered one of the Betfair Poker Pro team’s best players), there were complaints that the presence of the '15' in her name made her appear to be just fifteen years old. Betfair disputed this, stating that it did not market to people under 18, but that wasn’t enough for the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority, which mandated that, in all future ads, Betfair must ensure that no one under 25 years old should appear in any significant role.

Click here to read more details at the Sunday Business Post Online.