InterCasino in Big Trouble over Dwarf Online Gambling Ads

InterCasino found themselves in hot water this past week over a set of UK television commercials featuring people of restricted growth in a mock Japanese game show style.

The UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints over the four InterCasino adverts shown on UK TV since September last year. Paddy Power (a UK sports book) also fell foul of the ASA over a newspaper advertisement in The Times. The ad featured a short man partying in the back of a limousine with champagne, a cigar and two scantily clad women. The headline read: "Who says you can't make money being short?"

The ASA ruled that the InterCasino and Paddy Power ads breached CAP Codes concerning social responsibility (the InterCasino ads were judged to be likely to appeal to children) and linking gambling with sexual success.

New advertising rules for the gambling industry came into effect 1 September, 2007 in the UK. The new rules coincided with the new UK Gambling Act, which permitted gambling companies to advertise on UK television for the first time.

InterCasino maintained the attempt at humor was of an innocent nature, and said the advertisements were designed to show InterCasino as a "fun and relatively light-hearted brand".

Paddy Power defended their ad, explaining the headline was a play on words, specifically aimed at those who would have understood the word 'short' referred to financial spread betting.

Nevertheless, the ASA instructed both companies to pull the advertisements and sent a message to the industry that controversial ads would not be allowed in the future.

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