A betting company has come under scrutiny after taking a gambling promotion into a preschool classroom, where young children were encouraged to cheer as their teacher spun a prize wheel for a cash reward. World Sports Betting (WSB) has since withdrawn from the campaign, saying the classroom activation should never have happened.
The company shared a video of the visit on social media as part of its Bet to the Beat campaign, run in association with the Expresso Show. The footage showed social media influencer Chad Jones arriving at Cornwall Hill College Preschool in Pretoria to surprise a teacher with a chance to win money. The principal was reportedly aware of the surprise.
Jones entered the classroom with a large, branded prize wheel and told the children: “Your teacher has won a chance to win some big money.” After explaining how the wheel worked, he asked the children to help spin it. They chanted, “Spin, spin, spin,” as the wheel turned. The teacher won R14,000.
“That is R14,000 on a normal morning at Cornwall Hill College Preschool,” Jones announced as he celebrated the win.
The visit prompted questions about gambling marketing in places attended by young children.
“They’re grooming them young,” wrote X user Riley Ntsako.
WSB acknowledged that the visit was inappropriate and did not meet the standards it expected of itself. The company said an independent production company responsible for running the campaign had filmed the segment, and that WSB was unaware of the location at the time. However, it accepted responsibility for content published under its name.
“Gambling marketing has no place in classrooms,” the company said.
WSB said it had withdrawn from Bet to the Beat with immediate effect and had the content removed from social media. The remaining prize funds have been redirected to responsible-gambling awareness.
The company also said it had begun strengthening its supplier code of conduct to help prevent similar incidents. The incident has also raised questions about whether the activation complied with South Africa’s gambling advertising laws.
Section 15(1)(b) of the National Gambling Act 7 of 2004 prohibits promoting gambling in a way intended to target or attract minors. It states: “A person must not advertise or promote a gambling activity, other than an amusement game, in a manner intended to target or attract minors.”
Regulation 3(1)(i)(ii) of the National Gambling Regulations also restricts gambling advertisements at venues where most of the audience is likely to be under 18. It states that such advertisements must not be placed “at venues where the majority of the audience may reasonably be expected to be under the age of eighteen years”.
