Gary Neville gambling ad banned

A Sky Bet tweet featuring Gary Neville has been banned for violating gambling advertising rules.

The tweet included a video clip of Neville predicting Premier League winners on the Overlap Youtube series with the Sky Bet logo visible as an element from a sponsorship, reading “Brought to you by Sky Bet”.

Advertising standards

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) deemed that Neville was likely to appeal to under-18s, which is a breach of the ASA’s code prohibiting gambling ads from appealing to children or youth culture.

As a result, the advertisement received a ban from the ASA, which also instructed Sky Bet to no longer use individuals with strong appeal to under-18s in future ads.

Flutter

Sky Bet’s parent company, Flutter, expressed strong disagreement with the decision and the procedure that led to the decision, stating they would seek an independent review of the case.

It was argued that The Overlap, a series produced by Neville and sponsored by Sky Bet, was intended for adults and not children, and this was therefore reflected in the content and advertising.

Sky Bet also added this statement:

“The ASA did not receive a single complaint from the public or wider stakeholders about the social media post in question.”

ASA statistics

In response, the ASA presented statistics regarding Gary Neville’s following.

The former Manchester United and England full-back only has a small proportion of his total following under the age of 18. 

However, the ASA still pointed out that this amount still totalled 135,000 across Instagram and X (Twitter). 

This number is likely much higher when accounting for additional platforms such as TikTok and Facebook but age figures were not available for Neville’s accounts on these platforms.

Further to Sky Bet’s statement Twitter also communicated to the regulator that it had not received any complaints regarding the advertisement and even concluded that the ad did not breach any of its own policies.

Join us in Malta between the 13 – 17 November for SiGMA Europe 2023

SiGMA Europe’s Malta Week festival brings together a diverse and international group of industry leaders for a convergence of expo, conference, and networking. The event will be held at the Mediterranean Maritime Hub (MMH), a larger, more dynamic venue that promises a raw, industrial, and unconventional space unlike anything ever used before.