British Airways under fire for airing an ad that glamorises gambling

UK’s Advertising Standards Association (ASA) has been flooded with complaints against British Airways (BA) for airing a television ad that irresponsibly glamorised gambling.

Anti-gambling campaigners and members of parliament are at the forefront of scrutinising the BA Holidays advertisement.

The ad features a couple pleased as punch with themselves as they return to their hotel room. They are happy that they made money from a casino after spending some time in a swimming pool. “We had a bit of spare change so we put it in the slot machines… and won a couple of dollars. So we put it back in and the next thing we knew we’d won $493. Luckiest dip ever,” they said.

The former Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, has slammed the ad, stating he is “stunned” by the subject matter, before announcing that he will be taking the matter further with cross-party colleagues.

He commented: “Utterly appalling. What were they thinking?”

Following Smith’s criticism, a cross-party parliamentary group of MPs is expected to contact the BA to condemn the ad for making gambling attractive.

The complaints come in the wake of a recent backlash against a surge in gambling ads.

After mounting pressure to protect children, vulnerable people and addicts from overexposure to gambling, at the end of 2018, the gambling industry confirmed plans for a voluntary ban on betting adverts during sports programmes.

A spokeswoman for the ASA confirmed that the ad had received several complaints, for promoting gambling and “portraying it in a glamorous and frivolous way, and that it’s therefore irresponsible.”

However, the complaints are still in the assessment stage.