Decision Upheld
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against Festival Free Bets over a social-media post featuring social media star Astrid Wett.
The post saw Wett, who is under 25, advertising the company’s products.
Under 25
The ASA’s rules on gambling state that an individual who is under or appears to be under 25 can not be used in any sort of advertising or promotional material. The issue was raised when Astrid Wett posted an advert for Festival Free Bets at Cheltenham racecourse on March 12th this year.
Wett is 23 years old, which is a breach of the aforementioned rules. The complainant had challenged whether the ad had breached the rules on gambling advertising. After the assessment, the complaint has been upheld by the ASA, who has deemed that it has breached CAP Code rule 1.7.
The authority deemed Wett to be the main focus of the advert and that while Festival Free Bets is not a licensed operator, it is still accountable for breaching these rules.
No Response
The ASA has also confirmed that they have not received an official response from Festival Free Bets regarding the issue. In a press release, the company said that it finds the lack of response and apparent disregard of the complaint concerning. It has told the company directly that it must not breach these codes again.
While Festival Free Bets has not responded to the complaint, Astrid Wett has. Wett has claimed that she was unaware of the regulations in place and that she had assumed anybody over 18 years of age was able to advertise gambling products. She has apologised for her breach and has said she was committed to ensuring compliance with all guidelines moving forward.
