ASA bans two forms of Paddy Power advert following investigation

Paddy Power has been ordered to pull an advert that appears on both live TV and on-demand services All4 and My5 following an investigation by the ASA.

There were three complaints against the operator; the first was based on whether the advert portrayed gambling as taking priority in life and is considered irresponsible. The second was that the advert encouraged repeated gambling despite a loss. The last point that went under investigation was that the TV ad encouraged socially irresponsible gambling.

The advert in question depicted a young man on his phone while spending time with family. The man gets distracted by thanking his partner’s mother for a drink. A voiceover then says: “With Paddy Power’s Wonder Wheel you get a free spin with a chance to win cash prizes every single day.”

The man’s partner asked him, “Do you think I will end up looking like my Mum?” He replied, “I hope so”, while looking at his phone before appearing to realise what he had said was inappropriate. A voiceover said: “So no matter how badly you stuff it up, you’ll always get another chance with Paddy Power games.” He then played the game on his phone.

The ASA upheld all three complaints as it found that while being light-hearted in tone, the adverts still showed that gambling took precedence over spending time with family.

The ASA also deemed the advert on live TV to have breached Broadcast Code rule 17.3.4 (Gambling), and the ad for on-demand services to have breached the CAP Code rule 16.3.5. These rules state that marketing communications or advertising must not show, condone or encourage gambling behaviour

The ASA found that the phrasing used in the adverts of “You’ll always get another chance with Paddy Power games” when said in conjunction with “So no matter how badly you stuff it up”, implied gambling losses are taken lightly and therefore would likely encourage repeat play.

Following the conclusion of the ASA investigation, the operator was informed that the ads could not appear in their current form. The agency also told Paddy Power that future adverts did not show gambling as a priority activity and should not encourage socially irresponsible gambling.

Paddy Power also found itself in hot water with the ASA back in March when the firm was found to have misled customers in a radio advert.

The ASA also looked into another complaint made against the firm in December 2021, but Paddy Power changed the wording on that ad voluntarily without the need for an ASA investigation.