BetFred Faces Complaint Over Anthony Joshua Tweets

BetFred, a popular betting operator, recently faced scrutiny from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over tweets featuring the renowned boxer Anthony Joshua. These tweets were posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, during March and April of this year.

The heart of the complaint revolved around whether Anthony Joshua's presence in the tweets would strongly appeal to individuals under the age of 18. According to the ASA's CAP Code, featuring someone with strong appeal to under-18s in an advertisement is against the rules.

It's worth noting that the ASA previously reprimanded Sky Bet for using Gary Neville in a promotional tweet, deeming the football pundit to have an appeal to those under 18. XLMedia also received a warning for featuring footballer Mason Mount in an ad for its affiliate Freebets.com because Mount is under 25. However, William Hill was cleared of a similar challenge when using Robbie Savage in an ad.

In response to the complaint, BetFred argued that they conducted a thorough investigation of Anthony Joshua's appeal to under-18s. The operator emphasized that their social media channels are age-gated for individuals aged 18 and over. When age-gating wasn't feasible, BetFred claimed that their campaigns were specifically targeted to individuals over 25.

BetFred further contended that Joshua is primarily known for his accomplishments in sports and has not held any championship titles since 2021. They argued that there was no evidence to suggest Joshua, nearing the end of his career, is a notable star with a high risk of appealing to children.

Despite BetFred's arguments, the ASA upheld the initial complaint. The ASA's assessment revealed that approximately 6.6% of Joshua's Instagram followers were under 18, equivalent to around 1 million users. On Snapchat, this figure was 5%, and on YouTube, it was 0.9%, totaling an estimated 1.1 million underage users.

BetFred's assertion that boxing is an adult-oriented sport with late-night matches was acknowledged by the ASA. However, based on Anthony Joshua's success and celebrity status, the ASA concluded that he is considered a high-profile figure in the sport.

In the ASA's view, the large number of underage followers on Joshua's social media accounts, even though they were a small percentage of his total followers, indicated strong appeal to under-18s. As a result, BetFred faced consequences for their use of the famous boxer in their tweets.