lawmakers in the UK ordered a pull back of an internet gambling advertisement featuring a 20-year-old poker champion, seen as a way to attract under-aged players.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is again rejecting internet gambling advertisements, this time around focusing on an online gambling advertisement featuring a world champion poker player. In the ad World Series of Poker Europe winner Annette Obrestad can be seen using her online ID, “Annette_15.” The ad also featured a tagline saying, “Online experience is measured in games, not years. Join the new breed. Annette_15″. In a statement released by the ASA they noted that Betfair could encourage young people to gamble and was therefore irresponsible by representing a successful young poker player with the implication she is 15 years old. Obrestad won the WSOPE when she was 18, she is currently 20 years old. But the ASA rules require all persons appearing in a gambling marketing to be at least 25. Betfair responded: “Obrestad was chosen because of her standing as a poker professional and champion who had had a profound effect on the game.” The young age of the girl was in no way a factor for selecting her for the ad the internet gambling operator said. The ASA said in a statement: “We noted the code stated that no one under 25 years of age should be featured gambling in a marketing communication, or playing a significant role. Because Ms Obrestad was 20 years old and because, as a professional poker player, she played a significant role in gambling in the ad, we concluded the ad breached the provisions of the code.”