Jason Derulo Sparks Debate With Gambling Promotion Post

Instagram/@jasonderulo

Derulo is certainly having quite a conversation stirred on social media. The singer posted a short clip with the gambling site BC Game that spoke about lucky hands in gambling that changed his ‘ZIP code’-tagged as AD. While some celebrated, others went on to raise the issues of gambling addiction and endorsement by celebrities.

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This very post showed a brief video clip with the caption, “When that one lucky hand changes your ZIP code 🏡 #bcgame #stayuntamed,” followed by a responsible gambling disclaimer. There were no visuals whatsoever of a huge win or buying of a house; just the ‘maybe grew so big through gambling’ insinuation. And those were the comments that followed.

One sarcastic comment said, “Ahhh, I love responsible gambling ads,” while another said very truthfully, “People will promote anything nowadays for a little bit of money.” The skeptical comments went on to bring about reminders of the damages from gambling. “Now show the common and frequent results, where people lose all their life savings to this addiction,” warned one. Another followed, saying, “Promoting gambling with these fake results is not a flex. Ppl lose everything and families are ruined because of gambling.”

Ours truly just made an engagement with another comment about his winnings from that hand with an “🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾.” But the backlash just refused to dwindle, ‘Yeah, not the house though. 🙄’ Another comments led, “You let a brutal regime parade you around like a glittery pet, while thousands are silenced and tortured. Hope the paycheck was fat, pop puppet.” Ouch!

Some, however, remained true to the hype. The post received a flurry of praises from the fans. One supported, “🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 ❤️❤️❤️❤️ beautiful you won nice place ❤️❤️❤️,” while the other maintained the fun by adding, “I already love my zip code.”

While celebrity-backed gambling advertisement debates are nothing new, Derulo’s post did bring it to the forefront. Gambling addiction is no laughing matter, and although the disclaimer might have been there, critics argued how thoroughly overshadowing the risk were glamorized messages. One user spelled it out, “Gambling is the devil’s hand…wouldn’t entertain it.”

Whether Derulo was merely cashing in a paycheck or was outrightly celebrating a win, the reaction to it surely demonstrates how split people are about betting platforms being represented by influencers. Some view it as harmless fun, others as outright irresponsible. But either way, this post brought the topic to public eyes-and not all of them spoke kindly.

The big question, really, was, “Should celebrities promote gambling at all?” Comments flooded the post suggesting how the majority have an answer: a loud ‘No.’ However, with cash thrown around in that equation, it would be naïve to think we have seen the last of such advertisements. Just don’t expect it to be applauded by all.

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For more about Derulo, you can see his insane night swim video and new track tease. He also recently rated Singaporean food, which sparked quite a discussion online.