Promotional tweets featuring boxer Anthony Joshua have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for breaking gambling advertising regulations. Betfred, the company behind the tweets, is contesting the decision and said it will demand an independent review. The ASA cited new gambling advertisement rules, in which companies cannot appeal to under-18s “by reflecting or being associated with youth culture.” Although Betfred said it did not believe Joshua targeted children, the watchdog noted that a significant number of his social media followers, including 82,000 Snapchat followers and a million of his 15.7 million Instagram followers, are under 18.
Betfred’s tweets were composed of three videos that showed Joshua discussing his prep routine, diet, and pre-fight mentality, as he prepared for his battle with Jermaine Franklin in April. Betfred had labeled the tweets as “editorial” not advertising, arguing that boxing is an adult-oriented sport since the late-night matches are mostly pay-per-view and can be accessed only by over-18s. Although Joshua has 29.3 million social media supporters globally, Betfred claimed they were mostly adults. Nonetheless, the ASA believed that since a significant number of his followers were under 18, promoting Joshua was in breach of the new advertisement rules.
Betfred characterized the ban as “unjust,” and said the company did not believe uploading the three interviews with Joshua had weakened its commitment to eluding strong youth appeal in its marketing. “It should also be remembered that the ASA did not receive a single complaint from a member of the public about our association with Anthony Joshua in this respect,” a company spokesman said.
The gambling organization also noted that Joshua has a long history of working with Betfred and the deal with the boxer was established two years ago while he was a world heavyweight champion. Betfred said it will appeal the decision. Despite their actions, the ASA’s ban is not legally binding, and Betfred can still choose to repost the tweets in their current form. However, the watchdog has advised the company not to use figures that appeal to young people in the future
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