Paul Merson who has been battling gambling addiction for decades was featured in two Sky Bet ads
Online gambling operator Sky Bet has once again landed in hot water for its advertising activity. The company was slammed for using former England, Arsenal, and Portsmouth man Paul Merson in its ads, despite his decades-long battle with gambling addiction.
This is the second time Sky Bet’s advertising activity has come under fire in less than a month. Earlier in March, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority banned a TV ad that featured Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling who promoted the gambling operator’s Request a Bet feature that enables gamblers to place bets on events taking place during a football match.
The ASA deemed the Jeff Stelling ad irresponsible as it “placed strong emphasis on the role of sports knowledge in determining betting success.”
The new wave of discontent with Sky Bet’s advertising activity was prompted by the company’s choice to feature Merson in ads, despite his well-documented battle with gambling addiction. The former professional footballer has been used in two advertising campaigns since 2016.
Merson, along with other well-known Sky Sports football pundits, was featured in two ads as part of the Saturday Team, including one that ran between November 2017 and December 2018.
Sky Bet admitted to featuring the football legend, but said that he has not been part of its new advertising campaigns since April 2018.
The Worst Addiction in the World
Merson detailed his decades-long battle with alcohol, cocaine, and gambling addiction on the new ITV documentary Harry’s Heroes: The Full English. He first fell victim to gambling addiction while he was still playing football professionally, but revealed recently that he has relapsed in his battle last year.
Merson said on Harry’s Heroes:
I’ve completely lost control, I’ve completely, again. I’m digging a hole – I can’t get out of it. It’s the worst addiction in the world.
Commenting on Sky Bet’s use of Merson to promote its gambling services, MP Carolyn Harris, who acts as Chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said that she found this “deeply concerning” and that she strongly questioned the gambling operator’s judgment to pay someone promote its services when gambling “has had a profound negative impact on their life.”
Merson said in interviews over the past several weeks that mobile betting has made his problem even harder to manage. The former England midfielder went on to reveal that he would get up in the morning and bet on “Lithuanian under-20 basketball matches” to feed his constant urge to wager.
Merson said that on Good Morning Britain that he is now much better than he was several months ago, but his struggle with gambling addiction continues. He explained that while with alcohol and drugs “you have to put stuff in your body”, with gambling “you don’t have to put anything in, its just there” and it “just grips you.”
A spokesperson for Sky Bet has said that they have removed the limited amount of promotional content featuring Merson and that they have offered him professional help “and will continue to provide any support and assistance” he needs.
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