Annette Obrestad new Betfair ad banned by ASA

Annette Obrestad is the latest poker pro to star in a new advertising campaign launched by Betfair Poker. The new ad was sent out by Betfair Poker via email and featured Obrestad and the tagline “Online experience is measured in games, not years. Join the new breed. Annette_15”. The ad has now been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) because it is likely to appeal to children and young people.

The ASA was checking out a complaint, and according to past advertising bans, they only need one complaint to investigate an advertisement. They stated this particular advertisement ‘was likely to have particular appeal to children and young people, and that, by representing a successful young poker player with the implication she is 15 years old, it could encourage young people to gamble and was therefore irresponsible.”

Betfair also ran into trouble with the ASA because any people featured in a gambling advertisement must be twenty five years of age or older and Obrestad is only twenty. Betfair responded to the ban by stating: “it did not believe the ad would encourage children and young people to gamble, partly because of the way the email was distributed and partly because of the technical measures they used to prevent children and young people from gambling on their site,” adding “Obrestad was featured in the ad not because of her age but because of her standing as a poker professional and champion who had had a profound effect on the game.”