Gambling giant Entain has, in recent months, been at the forefront of the black market battle in Britain. From lobbying the government to speaking out against ineffective gambling legislation, the Isle of Man headquartered operator has not been shy in pointing out what it sees as failures by the wider establishment in tackling the unregulated gambling market. 

In recent weeks though, the operator has launched a series of advertising campaigns aimed at a very different audience: punters.

While the black market fight will no doubt be decided by regulators in Whitehall, Entain wants to shine a light on the conflict by educating average bettors about the dangers of the black market, hoping to put pressure on regulators through regular, everyday gamblers. 

The Boshfather

The social media advert follows a simple premise of explaining some of the most common dangers of playing on the unregulated market. 

UK influencer John “Big John” Fischer is sitting in a kitchen with a pizza box in front of him. Fischer asks, “Have you ever played a game where the rules keep changing?” before opening the pizza box and continuing, “One minute you’re winning, the next minute it doesn’t count.”

The comparison is obvious. Unregulated operators, who lack basic player protection systems and payout structures can simply void any bet, regardless of whether you were winning or not. 

“That’s why rules matter,” Fischer continues, “to keep things fair and protect customers.”

The Bonus Trap

According to the ad, one in 10 punters say they’d consider using an illegal site if it offered better odds and bonuses. 

“But better odds doesn’t mean fair play,” Fischer says, “and it doesn’t mean you’ll get your money out.”

Unlicensed operators will sometimes use large, unrealistic bonus amounts or betting odds to lure players onto their sites. The danger here of course is that while the illegal site might let you place a bet on its platform easily, often without verifying identification, getting that money out once your bet has finished is a different story.

The advert ends with Fischer reminding punters to only bet with operators that play by the rules, before signing off with his signature “BOSH!”.

Watch the full advert here.