An “irresponsible” tweet from Ladbrokes has been banned for featuring YouTube star Jake Paul.
An article from February showed a picture YouTubers and Pro Boxer, with the caption: “@TommyTNTFury beat @JakePaul by split decision last night. So, we have to ask the question… what’s next for Jake Paul? Vote here now.”
At the bottom of the tweet, the gambling company also linked to a poll with the following options: “Win a rematch,” “Go to MMA,” “Back to YouTube,” and “Join WWE.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) investigated whether the social media post breached inclusion rules Paulbecause he may have a strong appeal to people under the age of 18.
The YouTuber is known to be popular among teens and the streaming channel currently has over 20 million subscribers.
Responding to the ASA, Ladbrokes said the article, published after Paul and Tommy Fury’s fight, did not contain any “calls to action” such as promotional offers or links back to its website.
It also said that its Twitter messages and corresponding tweets are age-restricted (age verification system), so users cannot access unless the social media site accepts users as 18 years old.
The company acknowledges that Paul has a large following on social media, but says his follower stats show that 16 percent of his YouTube subscribers are between the ages of 13 and 17.
It also said that 0% of his Twitter followers were “registered as under 18.”
However, the ASA contends that Paul, known primarily for his YouTube videos, has 65 million followers on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, of which approximately 3 million are registered as fans under the age of 18 on the YouTube, TikTok and Instagram platforms.
Ladbrokes tweet banned for mentioning Jake Paul
Read more from Sky News:
Who is Jack Paul?
Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg: Did the cage fight really happen?
The ASA said Paul was believed to have a “strong attraction” to people under the age of 18.
Paul appeared on a children’s TV show called Bizaardvark between 2016 and 2018, and the ASA said the YouTuber may have had some viewers under the age of 18 when the Ladbrokes ad appeared.
The ASA said: “While the show ended in the US in 2019, we believe he is still well-known for being on the show, and the show is still available on UK streaming services.
“As such, we think Jake Paul has a strong appeal to under-18s.
“For these reasons, we believe the ad is irresponsible and in breach of the guidelines.”
The ASA said the post must not be reproduced or involve anyone in a close relationship with a person under the age of 18.