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Paddy Power have said that they are "really surprised" by the negative attention a new TV advert has received, after one group described it as having "deeply transphobic content".

The advert, featured above, was broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK over the weekend and has not aired on Irish television. The clip informs viewers that the Irish bookmakers plan to make this year's Cheltenham Festival Ladies Day "even more exciting by adding some beautiful transgendered ladies: Spot the stallions from the mares".

From here, the advert features a sequence of shots that feature well-dressed punters, while a comedy voiceover asks viewers to guess which of those advert's participants are men and which are women.

The advert has been described by the Transgender Equality Network Ireland [Teni] as "deeply transphobic", with Teni's Vanessa Lacey stating that she he had received complaints from members who felt "mocked, ridiculed and deeply hurt" by the content.

"Several members of the UK transgender community are cast in the ad, and it was also cleared by Clearcast [which pre-vets TV ads] before airing," Paddy Power told the Irish Times yesterday. " This ad is simply a bit of mild-mannered fun in the run-up to the Cheltenham festival."

Speaking to the Daily Mail later on, he added: "'It won't be pulled because we then run the risk of taking ourselves too seriously or pandering to political correctness."

The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has received 360 complaints about the campaign since it was originally broadcast and the regulator will now investigate the advert.