Where do they draw the line?
August 22, 2008
I’m not sure if you guys have heard of the Advertising Standards Authority. They’re the monitoring body responsible for ensuring that online gambling ads adhere to strict advertising policies. Since they were given this role last year, they have banned several ads including Paddy Power’s ‘Who says you can’t make money being short?’ and Intercasino’s Rolling Dice ads. Both feature little people presumably being exploited in different ways (Paddy Power’s ad features a little person in a limousine flaunting his money with 2 sexy ladies on either side of him and Intercasino’s ad shows 2 little people dressed as dice being rolled down a hill). Both ads were intended to appeal to the humourous nature of people but were given 2 thumbs down by the ASA and ordered to be removed from television stations.
Their latest victim is Wink Bingo, whose ad’s tagline states, “Find the appropriate moment”. The Spacebar Media produced ad features a nurse on duty in the Maternity Ward of a hospital and celebrating her Wink Bingo Jackpot win while a woman is giving birth unattended in the adjoining room. The ad was deemed “inappropriate” quite contradictory to its slogan, as it advocated gambling at work and neglecting one’s professional duties. The ASA acknowledged that they understood the purpose of the ad was to “portray a real-life situation in a humorous way” but banned it anyway as it was considered to be irresponsible.
I guess the strict advertising code for online gambling ads means that they all must follow the same theme where persons with no social life are up in the wee hours of the morning playing in front of their laptop or PC and throwing their hands in the air in victory as they win a jackpot! Can anyone say “BORING”!
While I understand that the ASA is just doing their job, I’m really scratching my head and wondering where do they draw the line? Creativity has always been the success of the online gambling advertising community but it seems to me that online gambling is being stifled in any and every which way possible.
Online Gambling Masters Degree
August 14, 2008
In staying abreast with the times and as part of their School of Sciences program, the Nottingham Trent University is offering a full-time Masters in Cyberpsychology degree to postgraduate students. The course will commence in October and its purpose is to develop an understanding of how people “respond to and operate within cyberspace” with a focus on key arease such as social networking, cybercrime, artificial intelligence and education and health issues.
Spearheading the course is Dr. Monica Whitty who commented that the course will be especially valuable to employers specializing in online digital technology and/or develping “…company or government policies regarding the internet.” Also a part of the team of Cyberpshychology is Prof Mark Griffiths, who is renowned for his research into the pshychology of computer gaming and online gambling behaviour.
With the gambling industry being as promising as it is in the United Kingdom and Europe, students participating in this course can be reassured of good job placement.
If you found this article interesting, you’ll also enjoy other posts in our Online Casino News section.
Downtime for World’s Second Largest Poker Room
August 13, 2008
Full Tilt Poker’s pledge to to providing ”the safest, most secure online poker site” meant nothing to their thousands of Players who were sweating bullets when they realized that the renowned Poker Room experienced significant downtime for the second time in two weeks.
The downtime occurred on Tuesday shortly after 1pm EST and lasted for over 2 hours. Suprisingly, there was no Press Release or formal apology to Players as to what happened, why it happened, and when it would be fixed. The only solace for Players was the website message that read “Sorry We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties” and at least 60% of Players were placed on hold for long periods of time when they attempted to contact the Telephone Support line.
One extremely nervous Full Tilt Poker Player contacted our site because he had been hearing through the grapevine that Full Tilt may be getting too big to accommodate their even bigger Player base and he wanted some form of confirmation. He further went on to say that he was contemplating cancelling his account once they were back online especially considering the 5 hour downtime they experienced on August 5th.
It was announced that the downtime that occurred on August 5th was to facilitate scheduled maintenance but honestly who conducts maintenance during the hours when their 2nd highest grossing Player base would likely to be catching a few hands before they had to go off to work or start their day? I mean REALLY!
Let’s hope that Full Tilt gets their act together and fast because the iPoker Network is waiting in the wings to usurp its very coveted 2nd ranking position. After all, 2nd place is just shy of 1st place and that’s not too shabby by many standards.
Stay abreast of what’s happening in the online gambling community; stay tuned to our Online Casino News section.
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