Anthony Joshua: Betfred's Boxer Tweets Broke Gambling Rules, Says ASA

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Anthony Joshua: Betfred's boxer tweets broke betting guidelines, states ASA

1 November 2023

ByRiyah Collins
BBC Newsbeat

Three tweets by Betfred featuring Anthony Joshua have been prohibited for breaching gaming advertising guidelines.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) examined the posts shared in March and April promoting a fight.

It said Joshua was most likely to strongly attract under-18s - which is forbidden by new gambling ad rules.

Betfred, which declined claims Joshua interested kids, called the choice "unjustified" and said it would require an independent evaluation.

Last year the ASA, which manages advertising in the UK on TV, radio and online, upgraded its guidelines for promoting gambling., external

The new standards mention that companies can not attract under-18s "by showing or being connected with youth culture".

Betfred's tweets included videos of Joshua discussing his diet, his preparation regular and his pre-fight mindset before his bout with Jermaine Franklin.

The business had actually argued boxing is an "adult-orientated sport" because its late-night matches are primarily streamed pay-per-view and can only be purchased by over-18s.

It likewise said the yohaig code 3 tweets weren't advertising but were "editorial" in nature.

The bookies did admit Joshua is hugely popular throughout social networks, with 29.3 m fans worldwide, however argued they were "extremely adult".

However, the ASA discovered about a countless Joshua's 15.7 m Instagram fans were registered as under-18, in addition to 82,000 of his fans on Snapchat.

The guard dog found this promotion code to be "a substantial number" implying Joshua was "of intrinsic strong appeal" to a young audience.

It told Betfred the advertisements "should not appear once again in their existing type" and cautioned it not to utilize figures who interest youths in future.

A Betfred spokesperson said the company securely believed posting the 3 interviews with Joshua "in no other way undermined" its dedication to preventing strong youth appeal in its marketing.

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"It needs to likewise be born in mind that the ASA did not receive a single grievance from a member of the public about our association with Anthony Joshua in this promotion code respect," he added.

Sky Bet recently had a tweet featuring Gary Neville banned for breaching the same guidelines.

Although Neville's footballing career ended in 2011, the ASA found he too was likely to have a strong interest under-18s - something Sky Bet disagreed with.

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