BoyleSports has been warned for giving odds on a child crying on the Late Late Toy Show
The betting group removed its post from social media following a complaint to the ASAI.
BOOKMAKER BOYLESPORTS FELL foul of advertising rules when it offered odds on the chances of a child crying during the Late Late Toy Show.
According to the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI), the company published a Facebook post ahead of last year’s Christmas television bonanza, featuring a picture of presenter Ryan Tubridy and three children.
An accompany message read, “One more sleep until the Late Late Toy Show! We’ve seen support for a Nutcracker jumper while Tubridy is 6/4 to make a child cry!”
The ASAI received a complaint about the post, with concerns that it was “affording those who saw the advertisement the opportunity to place a bet on the actions of a child”.
Ad standards
In response to the complaint, BoyleSports removed the post from social media and said that it completed an “extensive internal review” of its promotions and images.
The bookmaker also said that it had provided further training to the team involved in the marketing post to ensure they were aware of the relevant advertising standards.
In its decision to uphold the complaint, the ASAI expressed concern about including children in an advertisement for a gambling product.
It also noted that the Toy Show is “a favourite with many children on an annual basis”, and so the post was in breach of a number of advertising standards regarding marketing communications that are directed at children.
However, as the post had already been removed, the industry-funded watchdog said that no further action was required in this case.
Elsewhere, discount retailer Dealz was also the subject of an investigation by the ASAI for a series of Facebook posts that it ran last Christmas, due to complaints that it sexualised children’s toys.
