Brentford FC sponsor rapped by watchdog for pushing gambling to kids
Premier League club Brentford FC’s main sponsor, Hollywoodbets, has been rapped by the advertising watchdog for targeting children.
The Advertising Standards Authority today upheld a complaint from a minor prompted by an ad for the bookmaker on the esports website Virtual Football League.
The complainant was presented with the ad, which urged users to sign up to Hollywoodbets and claim promotions, despite having logged their age when registering on www.the-VFL.com.
“Because the ad was served to a user of the website who was known to be under 18 by their registered login details, we considered that the ad was directed at those below the age of 18 through the selection of the media in which it appeared,” said the ASA.
The ad was found to be in breach of three aspects of the CAP Code relating to non-broadcast advertising and marketing.
The ASA ruled that the ad must not be used again and instructed Hollywoodbets to ensure its ads were “appropriately targeted and not targeted at under-18s”.
Brentford’s Hollywoodbets deal hits five years
Brentford this month announced an extension of their partnership with Hollywoodbets despite a looming ban on gambling sponsorship in the Premier League.
The deal will see the bookmaker remain the club’s main commercial partner for a fifth season. Due to the ban, adopted voluntarily by top flight clubs, it will not be able to appear on the front of Brentford shirts after the coming campaign.
Hollywoodbets told the ASA the offending ad was placed on the Virtual Football League site by its affiliate partner Clever Advertising.
Clever Advertising said the ad was approved for display on the VFL homepage, meaning it should have been visible to visitors before they logged in but not after.
The VFL said it did not select the ads that appeared on its website, and once it was made aware of the complaint it contacted its partners to have the ad removed.
Brentford declined to comment.
It comes just weeks after five other Premier League clubs – Bournemouth, Fulham, Newcastle United, Wolves and Burnley – were warned about promoting unlicensed gambling sponsors.
Football has also faced criticism for embracing dozens of gambling brands while also issuing long bans to any players who bet on the sport.
England striker Ivan Toney was banned for eight months in 2023 while a Brentford player for placing more than 200 bets on football matches.