Betting giant apologises after preschool gambling promotion backlash
The betting company has withdrawn from the campaign and redirected unspent prize money towards responsible gambling awareness.
A gambling giant, World Sports Betting, apologized after a viral video showed an influencer promoting its brand to preschoolers at a classroom in Pretoria. The company, which offers a "Bet to the Beat" campaign, rewarded a teacher with an R14 000 prize for having an active betting account. The promotion sparked backlash from the public, who questioned the appropriateness of gambling marketing in a classroom.
World Sports Betting admitted the episode ran by an independent production company "ran the campaign" without their knowledge and withdrew from the promotion with immediate effect, removing the content from social media and redirecting prize funds to responsible gambling awareness. The company also pledged to strengthen its code of conduct for suppliers to prevent similar incidents.
Teachers' union, the SA Democratic Teachers Union, condemned the use of schools and children for marketing purposes, while the pre-school principal stated the visit occurred due to a staff member winning a radio competition.
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