The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) reminded to local lottery operators to make sure they are in line with the gambling advertising rules highlighted in a ruling of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
For the time being, all gambling operators that offer their services on the territory of the UK are required to comply with the UK Advertising Codes that are brought into action by the local gambling advertising regulator.
The UK Gambling Commission reminded to UK lottery operators and gambling companies as a whole that one of the major goals that are set for them is to operate their services in a fair and transparent way. The requirement for fairness and transparency is also applied to the companies providing their services under an operating license.
On November 22nd, the Advertising Standards Authority published a ruling after a number of complaints had been filed against the Health Lottery ELM Ltd in regards to the way it had advertised some of the prizes available. Now, the UK Gambling Commission has reminded to operators that the entire information about the prizes available in a certain lottery needs to be available.
The country’s gambling regulatory body further shared that companies are required to do that in a clear, fair and transparent manner so that customers are fully aware of the conditions under which prizes are offered to them. In addition, gambling commercials must not be misleading to customers by exaggerating the amount of the prizes or the likelihood for winning a prize.
ASA Ruling from November 22nd 2018
A Facebook post of Health Lottery ELM Ltd from January 22nd 2017 was challenged by two complainants who claimed that the wording of the post was misleading. The individuals understood that the jackpot offered by the lottery was normally much lower than £100,000 and £500,000 a week, respectively, so they blamed the operator for promoting its services with misleading post in the social network.
At the time when the case was investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority, the Health Lottery opposed to the complainants’ claims, saying that the wording was accurate enough, as it said that the jackpot amounted to up to £100,000 and up to £500,000. According to the operator, the ad’s goals was to emphasize on the fact that a total of five draws per week were operated, each of these draws featuring a maximum prize of £100,000, which made it possible for customers to win up to £500,000 per week.
The company also provided detailed information about the prizes and the normal volume of ticket sales.
The Advertising Standards Authority investigated the complaint and ruled in favour of the complainants, saying that players could interpret the advert’s wording in a way that they had realistic chances of generating a prize of up to £100,000 in case that they entered one of the available five weekly draws. According to the gambling regulatory authority, the wording of the advert implied that a jackpot amounting to £100,000 was awarded on a regular basis.
As a results, the ASA ruled that the advert of the lottery operator breached CAP Code rules 3.1 about Misleading advertising, 3.7 about Substantiation and 3.9 about Qualification. The regulator also said that the ad must not appear in the same form any more and reminded the Health Lottery ELM Ltd that the likely winnings available must not be exaggerated.
- Author
Daniel Williams
