Ladbrokes Iron Man 3 ad Banned over 'Child Appeal' Ladbrokes Iron Man 3 advertisement banned over 'child appeal' 24 August 2016 An advert for bookie Ladbrokes including Marvel superhero Iron Man has been prohibited over fears it would interest children. The e-mail, which featured an image from the film Iron Man 3, breached guidelines which say betting ads should not be likely to interest children, the Advertising Standards Authority said. Ladbrokes stated all its promotional emails were sent out to registered consumers or those understood to be over 18. Most Iron Man fans are adults, it stated. The bookmaker argued this was supported by data on attendance at Comic Con fan occasions and Facebook demographics for the Marvel brand. It likewise argued its advert was "adult-themed" and showed popular culture. However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) promoted the complaint against the 4 May email, saying that gambling ads must not be most likely to be of specific appeal to children, especially by showing or being connected with youth culture. The ASA stated it comprehended that the email was only sent to individuals aged 18 and over, however nevertheless, the restrictions still applied. It said that as all Facebook users should state themselves to be at least 13 years of ages, more youthful children were for that reason left out from the sample used by Ladbrokes to support its position. The ASA said: "We considered those younger children were likely to be the main audience for Iron Man action figures and related merchandise, which we comprehended were extensively readily available at toy retailers. "We comprehended that Iron Man was a popular character that would attract numerous adults however considered its comic book nature, and the accessibility of numerous related toys, indicated it was likely to have particular attract children and young individuals.