Sky Bet Tweet Featuring Gary Neville Banned Over Gambling Advertisement Rules

18 October 2023
ShareSave


Tom RichardsonBBC Newsbeat


A Sky Bet tweet featuring Gary Neville has been banned for breaking rules on betting adverts.


The post used an embedded clip of the ex-footballer anticipating Premier League winners on YouTube series The Overlap.


Sky Bet's logo appeared throughout the video, which ended with text stating: "Brought to you by Sky Bet".


The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled Neville was "likely to be of strong attract under-18s" - which Sky Bet declined.


The ASA's code states betting adverts ought to not interest children or youths, "particularly by showing or being related to youth culture".


They state their guidelines are based on the reality that betting is not for under-18s, so adverts on the subject can't be directed at that age in any method.


'Flawed process'


Sky Bet stated The Overlap, sponsored by the business and produced by Neville, was "noticeably adult in tone and did not feature any material of a childish nature".


It also explained that the footballer, a star of Manchester United's "Class of '92", ended his professional profession in 2011.


An 18-year-old today would have been 5 or six at the time, the business had argued.


But the ASA, which imposes UK marketing rules, stated it had calculated Neville had 135,000 under-18 fans throughout Instagram and X, formerly called Twitter.


It acknowledged this was a "little percentage" of his combined following on both, which was 7.1 m when it launched its investigation in March 2023.


But the authority believed the general number was "substantial" enough to conclude the advertisement was irresponsible.


Alcohol adverts featuring rapper ArrDee prohibited


'We'll really view the Olympics if there's cricket'


'Correct time to take on barriers in women's football'


The advertisement including Neville was a promoted tweet so the ASA stated SkyBet had actually been told not to publish it again.


Its ruling also prohibits them from featuring him once again in any media that isn't strictly set up to leave out under-18s.


It said it had Bet not to include anybody with a strong appeal to under-18s in their future marketing.


The ASA stated age figures for Neville's TikTok and Facebook followings were not available.


X told the regulator the advertisement did not breach any of its existing policies and it had actually not received any complaints.


A spokesperson for Sky Bet's parent company Flutter stated: "We fundamentally disagree with this choice and the problematic process which caused this outcome - it defies both precedent and sound judgment.


"The ASA did not receive a single complaint from the general public or larger stakeholders about the social networks post in question."


It said it would also seek "an independent review" of the case.


Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.