The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is not happy about the new ad published by a renowned online poker room. The campaign developed by PokerStars uses the headline “Play mind games”, a photograph of poker champion Daniel Negreanu and the tagline “Poker is a sport of courage, conviction and confidence.”

The ASA argues that the ad implies that playing poker and gambling makes people feel more confident and courageous. According to a spokesperson for the ASA, a complaint was filed with them stating that the advert promotes gambling through conviction and courage, which could mislead children.

PokerStars replied that the tagline was only a quote of what Negreanu thinks is required to become successful in life and did not mean that gambling was the way to achieve those qualities. Pursuant to the advertising code, ads can’t link sexual success to gambling or an improved self-image and they can’t appeal to children or youngsters.

Finally, the ASA resolved that the attributes mentioned in the advertisement, courage, conviction and confidence, can be seen by the target audience as admirable qualities. Therefore, the authority decided that the ad breaches the code.