22Bet, an online bookmaker from Cyprus who had their ads featuring Brendon McCullum pulled from YouTube, has tried pushing to Kiwis once again.
The company became infamous earlier this year, frustrating viewers with its relentless marketing campaign featuring the England coach and former Black Caps star.
The ad caught the Problem Gambling Foundation's attention, who said putting money into the site is risky, as it's not regulated in New Zealand.
Online gambling sites are generally illegal to operate here with limited exemptions provided to TAB and Lotto.
Because of this, 22Bet’s ads were pulled from YouTube, as they didn’t comply with New Zealand’s advertising laws.
However, they managed to sneak back with short ads once again playing before videos.
The new ads are fairly generic compared to the previous ones, using stock footage of athletes behind moving text.
McCullum is not involved.
Google says they have already taken action on the ads.
Only certified advertisers are allowed to promote gambling content in New Zealand through YouTube - and the platform removes content that violates its policies.
However, sometimes it’s possible for ads that do break the rules to run before Google Ads Specialists are able to check them, according to the company.
Their systems are constantly developing and learning different ways they can take action on ads before they can run.
Google said they are committed to removing content that violates policy.
The Department of Internal Affairs, which is in charge of gambling regulation in New Zealand, said that because of the current gambling act, they’re limited as to what they can do about overseas bookmakers.
“Currently, the prohibition does not apply to gambling conducted overseas, and it is not illegal for a person in New Zealand to gamble with an overseas gambling provider over the internet,” Dave Robson, director gambling at the Department of Internal Affairs said.
“As 22BET conducts its operations overseas, and as YouTube is not hosted within NZ, any advertisements displayed on these platforms fall outside the Department’s jurisdiction as regulator.
“However, the Department continues to engage where possible with overseas organisations and remind them of our expectations that they follow NZ domestic law.”
In April, the department wrote to 22Bet, outlining its expectations around the ads.
They haven’t had any complaints since the McCullum ads were pulled by Google.
SHARE ME