GambleAware’s 'Tap Out' Wrestler Hits Unsuspecting Bet Regret in Comedic Campaign

Independent Charity GambleAware and The Safer Gambling Board, whose mission is to keep people safe from gambling harms, have launched a new campaign aiming to encourage people to pause and reconsider before they place a bet they may regret. 

The Push was created in partnership with creative agency M&C Saatchi andis the second major campaign to launch as part of BeGambleAware and The Safer Gambling Board’s broader ‘Bet Regret’ initiative, which promotes safer gambling, primarily amongst men aged 18 to 34.

Timed to coincide with the start of the football season, the campaign includes two films featuring people who are about to place ill-considered bets. The Unsuspecting gamblers are each interrupted by a wrestler, who pins them down until they agree to ‘tap out’ of their betting apps, saving them from BetRegret.

The campaign was produced during lockdown using exceptional quarantine measures to allow physical contact with amateur wrestler Adam Kirby, who stars in the ads.

The spots, which were directed by Vince Squibb through Academy Films, will run across TV, VOD, social and digital display, supported by radioactivity. Media planning and buying for the campaign is by Goodstuff.

The advice for bettors to ‘Tap Out’ is part of a strategy to encourage adoption of a new, specific and easy to follow behaviour of pausing before placing a bet to get the much-needed time to think. M&C Saatchi researched number of techniques together with Ipsos Mori, finding that closing the betting app for some time before placing a bet is the most effective way to help people avoid bets they regret. 

Professor Sian Griffiths, chair of the safer gambling campaign board and GambleAware Trustee, said: “The first year of the Bet Regret campaign had a positive impact on our target audience. We are looking to build on that success by influencing behaviour change through encouraging sports bettors to ‘tap out of their gambling app and take a moment to reflect before placing a risky,impulsive bet. This new campaign is designed to help fans steer clear of BetRegret and reduce potential gambling harms.” 

Matt Lee, deputy executive creative director, M&C Saatchi, said: “How can we encourage people to tap out of their betting apps and save themselves from those bets they’ll regret? Obviously, we enlisted the help of someone who knows a thing or two about tapping out. A man-mountain wrestler in a singlet with a weird beard.Whether in the pub or at home, he’ll be not very gently reminding bettors to not make mindless bets, and to ignore the league form of Dynamo Notaclue.”