Pistorius Gambling Advertisement Catches Flack in UK

March 5, 2014 by

pistorius-gambling-advertisementA big item in the news right now is that Oscar Pistorius is on trial for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in South Africa back in February of last year. A lot of media coverage has been given for this, and while everyone can agree that it’s very sad, it seems like someone has been making the best of it. Irish online bookmaker Paddy Power had an advertisement that not only referenced Pistorius and the murder trial but went so far to use it as a promotion.

Is This Pistorius Gambling Advertisement in Poor Taste?

The advertisement in question reads, “It’s Oscar time. Money back if he walks. We will refund all losing bets on the Oscar Pistorius trial if he is found not guilty. Paddy Power.” This advertisment appeared in several places including Paddy Power’s social networking news feeds and their website. There is no denying that they were the source of the ad, and it has come under a lot of fire lately from people on all sides of the trial.

Advertising Standards Authority Investigates

Paddy Power is located in Ireland, and they are under investigation from the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland as well as the ASA for the United Kingdom. There have been a ton of complaints about the promotion as well as the advertisement itself, and that’s why the ASA is in the process of investigating them for it.

It’s not unusual for Paddy Power and other popular online bookmakers to allow betting on a wide range of topics including elections, the weather and the outcomes of high-profile trials. However, it’s still possible for them to cross the line on this, and the advertisements have a lot of people upset. Reeva Steenkamp had a family, and it’s probably very painful for them to see that her death is being used to generate profits for an online sportsbook. This is one reason why people are finding the advertisement offensive, and this has led to a big investigation on the matter. It will be interesting to see what happens once this investigation is over.

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