Not-so-bright email from betting company

A furore erupted at the start of the Easter weekend when someone at online gambling firm BetBright sent out a marketing email suggesting that players shouldn’t let Jesus “spoil your fun on your day off” and that he “probably won’t mind anymore”, followed by a link to the wagering site.

It is not clear whether this was simply an inadequately supervised and religiously insensitive employee, or a more management-inspired strategy designed to emulate the controversial but eye-catching guerrilla marketing style often used by Paddy Power.

Whatever its origin, it ignited a storm of criticism on social media, prompting BetBright’s marketing manager, Brian Farrell, to send a follow-up email which apologised and advised customers:

“You may have received an email this morning from BetBright which contains an inappropriate reference to Good Friday.

“I wish to apologise for any offence it may have caused and would like to clarify that BetBright do not support and will not tolerate derogatory references of any manner made in any of our communications.

“Whilst we encourage engaging and entertaining communication with our customers, we absolutely do not support language that may have cause to offend and or upset.

“Please be assured that we have dealt with this internally to ensure against a repeat occurrence.”