BA flies in to gambling storm with casino winners ad

BA has been accused of glamorising gambling after it ran a television commercial featuring a couple easily winning money on slot machines, triggering complaints to the advertising regulator and anger from MPs and campaigners. The advert, for BA Holidays, shows a couple returning to their room via what appears to be a hotel casino after a dip in the swimming pool. “We had a bit of spare change so we put it in the slot machines … and won a couple of dollars. So we put it back in and the next thing we knew we’d won $493. Luckiest dip ever,” they said. Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said he had been “stunned” by the advert and would be discussing the matter urgently with cross-party colleagues. He said: “Utterly appalling. What were they thinking?” A cross-party parliamentary group of MPs, led by the Labour MP Carolyn Harris, is expected to write to BA to condemn it for “glamorising” gambling.<br/>