Spoof child betting ad misses mark A TAXPAYER-funded advertisement on the risks of gambling for children has been deemed misleading only weeks after it was launched. The advertising watchdog upheld viewer complaints about the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation's KidBet advertisement, which features a young boy who claims that "KidBet is the first betting agency by kids, for kids." The commercial tries to mock sports betting advertisements and features a young boy spruiking a fake bookmaker app called KidBet, where he claims you can "have a punt any time, anywhere." The foundation said the spoof advertisement was "deliberately designed to be above the heads of children" and had been placed in the PG timeslot to encourage parents to talk to their children about the risks of gambling. But the Advertising Standards Bureau found the ad was "strongly suggestive of gambling as an activity that could and should be enjoyed by children." The bureau also claimed the advertisement contravened "prevailing community standards on health and safety." The advertisement is not yet being broadcast. Foundation chief executive Serge Sardo said the advertising campaign had been "spectacularly successful" and was primarily aimed at parents. "While there have been a small number of concerns raised with us, we think we've more than answered those," he said. We've also got a great deal of support from the education sector, public health and the gambling counselling sector who have praised our ground-breaking campaign.