Skybet Request A Bet Ad Banned By ASA

The Skybet Request A Bet TV advertisement which has been showing since August 2018 has been ruled to be in breach of guidelines in its current form and can not be broadcast again.

The Ad which promotes the bookmaker’s hugely popular Request A Bet service prompted two complaints to challenge whether the Advertisement was irresponsible as it suggested that punters with a good knowledge of sports were more likely to have success with their betting.

Clearcast, a non-governmental organisation that pre-approves ads for British television, supported Sky Bet, saying the ad was in line with similar sports betting treatment, with the focus being on excitement and possibilities within sports for fans, rather than the outcome of the bet or the possibilities of winning.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which acts as the watchdog for TV Ads concluded that the guidelines had been breached, however.

In its defence Sky Bet said customers could choose a number of parameters to create a “Request A Bet “ selection and they would use knowledge of the relevant sport in order to do that. The bookie further stated it was accepted that knowledge of a sport would increase chances of success, with many consumers researching and studying sports to gain an “edge” over the bookmaker.

Skybet is now owned by the Stars Group having been bought by the Canadian gambling company which owns many other gambling brands including Pokerstars, Betstars and Full Tilt in July 2018 from its previous private equity owners CVC Capital Partners in a deal worth $4.7 billion. CVC had done particularly well with Skybet having acquired the brand from UK broadcaster Sky in March 2015.

Announcing the Stars Group annual results earlier this month Chief Executive Rafi Ashkenazi stated that Skybet was the Uk’s largest bookmaker in terms of market share and that he anticipated “double-digit growth from Skybet in the next financial year.