Two major online gaming operators, Coral Interactive and LeoVegas, were reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for what the regulatory organisation considered misleading advertisement content. The rebuke the two operators faced was caused by several complainants, who interpreted the content of their advertisements and promotional incentives as harmful and irresponsible.
Coral Interactive’s ad was seen on UK television on April 16, 2017 and involved clips of several professional players engaging in a game of football. The ad’s voice-over suggested that football fans can either choose to merely watch their favourite game on television or get involved in the action, apparently by making real-money bets on the outcome via Coral’s sportsbook. Two complainants took issue with the phrasing used in the ad as it implied that gambling on the outcome of sports events is apparently better than watching the games themselves. Punters were also referred to as “players”.
Representatives of Coral’s governance addressed the issue stating that in their opinion the tone of the voice-over was not promoting irresponsible gambling aggressively. In their words, the voice-over simply implied it is up to players to decide whether to merely watch sports or do so and bet on the events’ results at the same time. This was emphasised through the use of the phrasing “You Decide”. Coral’s governance also said that the ad did not make any implications that true sports fans were necessarily gamblers as well.
Moreover, the ad contained a featured bet as an example which aimed at assisting sports fans in making an informed choice whether to bet or not. Non-profit organisation Clearcast, which pre-approves ads before they are broadcast on British television, took Coral’s stance on the issue insisting that the content of the said advertisement was, in fact, promoting responsible gambling.
However, the ASA disagreed and upheld the complaints under the argument that the wording of Coral’s ad suggested that betting on the events’ outcomes is more exciting than enjoying the games as a spectator only. The ASA argued the phrasing “Get in on the action” further contributed to this impression. The regulatory organisation insisted that Coral Interactive takes down its ad for revision so the elements condoning irresponsible gambling can be removed.
Two similar complaints were issued against online gaming operator LeoVegas. The complainants took issue with a post published by King Casinos UK via the social networking platform Twitter. The said tweet remained on Twitter for a two-month period throughout December 2016 and January 2017. The text itself implied that a glitch in a certain online casino’s website was causing British players to win big. The post also stressed that the said glitch was not fixed yet. Below the text, there was a link to another website which described a promotional offer by LeoVegas. As it appeared, the word “glitch” was used in reference to a free spins bonus offered by the operator.
Following the complaints, LeoVegas responded that the ad was created by its marketing partner Nyheter and appeared as “Sponsored” or “Promoted” content. The gaming operator also confirmed that most of the misleading promotional materials have been removed immediately from the web, following the advice of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), which is a sister organisation of ASA.
The opinion of the ASA on the matter is that implying a fault with the gambling operator’s website may potentially lead to greater profits for players is misleading advertisement on LeoVegas’ behalf. According to the ASA, giving away free spins on slots can hardly be considered a glitch in the operator’s system. Additionally, the ASA stated that all marketing materials should be easy to identify as such, in accordance with the Code Policy of CAP.
This was not the case in this instance since customers were able to identify the ad as commercial content only after they have clicked on the link in the tweet. The regulatory organisation acknowledged the removal of the ad by LeoVegas and warned the operator not to use the word “glitch” in reference to its promotional offers.
- Author
Daniel Williams
