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ASB dismisses complaint over gambling ad aired during BattleBots

An ad depicting wild celebrations from people winning bets has been cleared by the advertising watchdog after a parent complained about it airing while he was watching the TV show Battle Bots with his son.

The TV show airs on Nine’s secondary channel Go.

The TAB’s ‘Check and Collect’  ad shows punters in a bar, at the dentist and in shop screaming with excitement at winning.

A complaint made to the Advertising Standards Board said: “Extremely inappropriate time slot – It is on far TOO EARLY when minors are still watching television – it is always on during BattleBots from approximately 7.15pm onwards.

“My 9 year old son and I watch BattleBots together and after he saw the advertisement and asked questions (and said, “Cool, look Dad you can win money!”) I had to explain to him how gambling can be addictive, financially dangerous and that he should never gamble. ,” the complainant said.

TAB’s parent company, Tabcorp Holdings argued that it was entitled to air the ad during the program which was not primarily aimed at children.

It added: “Tabcorp disagrees with the proposition that the portrayal of the character’s checking their betting tickets on the TAB app on their phones, winning and celebrating their wins, states or implies a promise of winning,” the gaming operator said.

 

While the ASB noted the complainant’s concern the advertisement glorified gambling and had aired at an inappropriate time, it did not believe the advertisement showed any of the groups placing bets, and said there was no indication “that further bets will lead to winning.”

“The Board considered the reactions of the people were ‘over the top’ and most members of the community would recognise the humorous tone and unrealistic reactions of the people,” the ad watchdog said.

“The Board considered that the advertisement does not imply that you will definitely win if you use their product or service, or make any other claims about winning.”

The ASB dismissed the complaint.

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