Coral Interactive Ltd faced the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) backlash for advertising some games which could be found particularly attractive by children.
A complaint has been filed against the brand’s gambling website www.coral.co.uk, because three games which could be appealing to minors were promoted on February 20th, 2018. The first game, called “Rainbow Riches” showed an animated image of a rainbow, a bot of gold and a leprechaun. Another game, “Fishin’ Frenzy” which depicted an animated image of fish swimming in the ocean was also promoted at the time, along with “Lucky Wizard”, which showed an animated image of a wizard.
The person who filed the complaint challenged whether the ads’ content was likely to be attractive to under-aged individuals and encourage them to gamble.
Coral Interactive’s Response to Complaint
The gambling operator responded to the complaints filed, saying that the content of their website had been put under a thorough review. The review’s results, however, proved that the company was in line with the CAP Code rules.
According to Coral Interactive, the “Rainbow Riches” game was not likely to be found more attractive by children and young individuals than by adults. The gambling operator explained that there was nothing specific about the look of the ad in order for its graphics to be more appealing to a younger audience.
As far as the second game, “Fishin’ Frenzy”, was concerned, the company revealed that the ad was actually modified in a way that they believed would make it less likely to be found attractive by children. According to the gambling operator, the image of fish used in the ad did not have any specific resemblance to a certain species or a cartoon character which minors could recognise. In addition, the company claimed that the image of fish used in the advert was very small, which made it almost impossible for any specific features of the image to be seen.
Coral Interactive also shared that the image of an animated wizard in the third game, “Lucky Wizard” did not resemble any particular character that could be considered attractive by children. According to the company, the image was generic in form, not to mention that it was only a detail in the overall game tile.
ASA Investigates on the Complaint and Rules Against Coral
As Casino Guardian has previously reported, gambling advertising has lately been put under fire as an increasing number of operators use graphics that under-aged and more vulnerable individuals could find particularly attractive.
The Advertising Standards Authority noted that the first game, which depicted an animated leprechaun also featured vibrant colours and a bright yellow road which was a popular fictional element in a famous children’s novel. Because of that, the advertising watchdog of the UK considered that the advert could be more appealing to children than to adults. The fish displayed in the second game’s advert, on the other hand, was styles with large eyes and innocent-looking smile, which resembled animated characters in children’s books and films. The ASA found these features were likely to attract more minors. The same applied to the image of the wizard used in the third game’s ad was likely to appeal more strongly to children than to adults.
The Advertising Standards Authority found that the three above-mentioned adverts breached CAP Code rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12 regarding gambling. The UK advertising regulatory body said that the three ads must not appear in their current form any more and reminded to Coral Interactive that it has to make sure that its gambling advertising materials are not particularly attractive to children.
- Author
Olivia Cole
