The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) moved to ban the controversial “Always Bet on Black” feature used before the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor bout last month
Irish betting giant Paddy Power, who have come under fire in the past for other campaigns considered close to the bone, ran an advertisement prior to the bout on Aug. 26.
The company used an image of Mayweather with the caption “Always Bet on Black” to announce that they were paying out early on bets placed on the boxing legend:
The ASA stated via the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) that the advertisement was “likely to cause serious offense on the grounds of race.” The ASA added that they had received nine complaints about the feature which was deemed by some to be racially inconsiderate:
“We acknowledged that the headline claim did not make a negative statement about Floyd Mayweather’s race and had endorsed him to win the match,” the ASA stated. “We also acknowledged that Floyd Mayweather had authorized the claim. However, we considered that readers would nevertheless be offended by the invitation to always bet on the outcome of a boxing match based on a boxer’s race, and the message that the boxing match was a fight between two different races.”
Mayweather had worn the slogan on his shorts at the weigh-in’s the night before the bout and had thanked Paddy Power for their support in a video released prior to the fight.
