TV ad is over the odds

AN online bookmaker is under pressure to pull a TV commercial which uses Olympic drug cheat Ben Johnson to endorse its product.

Gambling giant Sportsbet’s latest campaign – “putting the roid into Android” – launched at the weekend featuring the disgraced Canadian sprinter to spruik its mobile phone app.

The ad – which also pokes fun at Chinese swimmers, Lance Armstrong and eastern European weightlifters – promises “performance enhancement” for betting via its new “juiced up” app.

The Federal Government has criticised the ad and Independent senator Nick Xenophon said: “It is just wrong on so many levels – glorifying a drug cheat, tying it in with gambling and promoting it to kids in a lighthearted way.”