The gambling industry is on the constant rise and each year new gamblers arrive making it even more popular.
Generally speaking, the public doesn’t mind that, as long as no one influences others to start gambling. That’s what British Airways has been accused of.
Dissatisfaction With British Airways:
UK’s Advertising Standards Association received a plethora of complaints on behalf of British Airways because they aired an ad that romanticized gambling.
Various people who are against gambling along with the members of parliament are currently investigating this entire situation. It seems like most of them do not have good opinion of this advertisement.
What’s So Bad About It?
This UK ad showcases a happy couple that looks very satisfied and happy as they are going back to the hotel.
Namely, they are in a good mood due to the fact that they have just earned some cash from a casino.
This is what this fictional couple stated in the commercial:
“We had a bit of spare change so we put it in the slot machines… and won a couple of dollars. So we put it back in and the next thing we knew we’d won $493. Luckiest dip ever.”
A Comment from Ian Duncan Smith:
The former Conservative leader, Ian Duncan Smith, was disgusted by this commercial, adding that he was actually “stunned” by this topic, before announcing that he will be taking the matter further with cross-party colleagues.
This was his comment: “Utterly appalling. What were they thinking?”
It looks like his statement and generally his attitude stimulated a cross-party parliamentary group of MPs that plans to contact British Airways in order to give them their (negative) opinion concerning their advertisement.
They didn’t like the fact that BA have made gambling so appealing. British Airways couldn’t have picked a worse moment to present their ad because not long ago, people were also complaining about the abundance of gambling ads everywhere they go.
Ban on Betting Commercials:
The gambling industry has been going through a rough time recently and is under pressure due to the fact that the public wants to protect people (kids, sensitive people and those who are prone to gambling) from these types of manipulation.
At the end of last year, the gambling industry made a decision to place a voluntary ban on betting adverts during sports programmes.
A spokeswoman for the ASA confirmed these rumors regarding attacks on British Airways and said that many have stated that this ad is “portraying gambling in a glamorous and frivolous way, and that it’s therefore irresponsible.”
Since this news was just released, no one knows for sure the outcome.
Source: “British Airways Under Fire For Airing An Ad That Glamorizes Gambling” https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2019/01/10/36010/british-airways-under-fire-for-airing-an-ad-that-glamorises-gambling/. European Gaming. January 11, 2019.
Comment: What they did was wrong, there’s no doubt about that, but c’mon, people are overreacting!
