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

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Anthony Joshua: Betfred's fighter tweets broke betting guidelines, says ASA

1 November 2023

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 stated Joshua was likely to highly interest under-18s - which is prohibited by new betting advertisement guidelines.

Betfred, which turned down claims Joshua attracted kids, called the decision "unfair" and stated it would require an independent evaluation.

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

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

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

The company had argued boxing is an "adult-orientated sport" due to the fact that its late-night matches are primarily streamed pay-per-view and can just be bought by over-18s.

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

The bookies did confess Joshua is hugely popular across social media, with 29.3 m fans worldwide, however argued they were "overwhelmingly adult".

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

The watchdog found this promotion code to be "a considerable number" indicating Joshua was "of intrinsic strong appeal" to a young audience.

It informed Betfred the advertisements "should not appear once again in their existing form" and alerted it not to utilize figures who interest young people in future.

A Betfred spokesperson said the company securely thought posting the three interviews with Joshua "in no chance weakened" its commitment to preventing strong youth appeal in its marketing.

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

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

Even though Neville's footballing profession ended in 2011, the ASA discovered he too was most likely to have a strong interest under-18s - something Sky Bet disagreed with.

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