Punishment Should be "Harsher" for Online Gambling Sites Exploitation of Little People, Kids

Interacasino and Paddy Power - two popular online gambling brands - found themselves in plenty of hot water this week following advertisements that depicted dwarfs in sexually compromising positions and seemingly targeting pre-schoolers.

UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) isn't laughing and they effectively have banned the ads.

The ad from Paddy Power featured, as Reuters reports, " . . . a dwarf in a limousine flanked by two beautiful women, smoking a cigar and holding up a champagne glass. A strapline accompanying the advert said: 'Who says you can't make money being short?' "

"We concluded the ad suggested this man's 'shortcoming' had been overcome by the wealth he had acquired through gambling and therefore that the ad implied gambling was a way to improve self-esteem or gain recognition or admiration," the ASA stated in their ruling.

"We concluded the ad was irresponsible."

The Intercasino advertisement also features dwarfs being tossed off a hill.

"It's atrocious and an insult to little people," said one midget.

Many dwarfs in the past and even still today have been exploited or treated unjustly by others.

Dwarfism, according to the Little People of America Research Fund, is the result of the disproportionate growth of the skeleton, a condition mostly predetermined by the genetic code.

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Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor POBrien@CostiganMedia.com

Originally published April 25, 2008 2:29 pm EST