The Tasmanian Trotting Club has defended the use of cartoon dog duo Bluey and Bingo to promote a Good Friday family racing event and denied it’s in breach of any copyright law.
In a Facebook post, the Tasmanian Trotting Club encouraged “Bluey and Bingo lovers” to “come along and watch both the harness and greyhounds” and “join in on all the fun planned for the kids” at the annual event, planned for later this month at Elwick racecourse.
The post spruiks face painting, live music and a “meet these legends” encounter with the Bluey and Bingo characters.
But independent MP Kristie Johnston, who has called for harness and greyhound racing to be banned, labelled the promotion of the event as “disgusting”, and said it encouraged young people to “participate in a cruel and inhumane industry”.
“It is disgusting they have used unauthorised Bluey and Bingo, the characters that are loved by children, to try and entice young people and their families to racing,” she said.
In a social media post, Ms Johnston said she also believed the Tasmanian Trotting Club could be in breach of the Responsible Gambling Code of Practice as it “encourages and targets people under the age of 18 years”.
However, the section of the code referenced by Ms Johnston is in relation to the advertising of gambling products, not the promotion of a racing event.
The original advertisement for the event featured official Bluey and Bingo artwork but has since been changed to show two people in unofficial Bluey and Bingo costumes.
Chief executive of the Tasmanian Trotting Club, Steve Devereaux, said the Good Friday event “has always been promoted as a family day by the racing clubs”.
He added that “any perceived copyright issue has been resolved”.
Mr Devereaux said that children’s attendance at the event was ultimately a decision to be made by parents.
“Parents make their own choices in relation to entertainment for their children. I’m sure they will on this occasion,” he said.
“Both the Tasmanian Trotting Club and the Hobart Greyhound Racing Club support many sporting clubs and charities every year and have always welcomed families along to meetings.”
The trotting club said it has no plans to postpone or cancel the event.
The event received a mixed reaction on social media, with some praising the organisers and encouraging attendance — with others decrying the use of the beloved characters to promote the occasion.
The ABC has sought comment from the BBC, which holds the intellectual property rights to the Bluey and Bingo characters, but is yet to receive a response.
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