Has Paddy Power overstepped the mark?
There is a storm a brewing tonight.
They say all publicity is good publicity, but there must be an invisible line that is crossed at some point. Judging by the feedback to their latest promotion Paddy Power appear to be at least on that line.
With the world, in part at least, turning its eyes to South Africa for the trial of Oscar Pistorious, Paddy Power thought they would put a market up for it; click here if you wish. I think this is the first time I have ever seen a market offered for a conviction of murder. I was a bit shocked to see it and thought it was a prank but it turns out to be true.
It’s unfortunate. The gambling industry doesn’t have a great reputation and IMHO everybody in it should do what they can to uphold integrity on all levels. On this occasion public opinion appears to be firmly against Paddy Power with petition sites asking for withdrawal of the market.
Offering this market doesn’t seem very tasteful, even for Paddy Power. It will be interesting to see how it resolves itself. A marker for whether all publicity is bad?
Category: Industry news
