The British gambling company Merkur Cashino escaped severe criticism and further measures after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) held a probe into an ad of the company.
One complaint was filed against Merkur Cashino after a promotion of the gambling firm was seen on the back of a child’s bus ticket on May 28th. 2019. The promotion said that customers will get £5 free plays on a machine of their choice with the ticket in question. The complainant challenged whether the advert was aimed at individuals under the age of 18 through the selection of context or media in which it appeared.
Merkur Cashino, the brand under which Cashino Gaming is trading in the country, responded to the complaint and explained that the company operated low stake gambling terminals in an environment that is only accessible to adults. The controversial promotion was aimed at highlighting the refurbishment of the Merkur Cashino venue situated in Cotterridge and was aimed only at adult customers living in the area.
The operator also revealed that the ads printed on bus tickets were only active from May 6th to 19th, 2019. The company, however, explained that TicketMedia, the ad agency they used, had confirmed that a little over 23% of ticketed passengers were between 5 and 15 years of age on the bus routes used for advertising. Merkur Cashino, however, explained that the promotion was not targetting children, and more importantly, was not likely to be found appealing to underage individuals or be associated with youth culture.
Furthermore, the gambling operator said that there was a banner on the printed ad with a reference to responsible gambling and the “over 18s” symbol clearly printed there.
Gambling Ad of Merkur Cashino Does Not Target Children, ASA Says
During the probe carried out by the British advertising watchdog, data from the company that operated the bus route was gathered, too. National Express West Midlands shared that in a term-time week, the 35 bus route sees approximately 45,000 passenger journeys made.
According to its estimates, around 27% of the journeys were undertaken by passengers on the above-mentioned route who purchased a ticket and would potentially receive the printed advertising material. Furthermore, the majority of these passengers were people over the age of 18. As National Express West Midlands shared, the proportion of cash tickets that are being purchased by underage individuals on the same route was about 15% during term time and about 12% during the holidays. Besides, only slightly over 3% of all passenger journeys involved children purchasing a cash paper ticket on the bus.
The Advertising Standards Authority investigated the issue under CAP Code rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.13 but found no breach on behalf of the gambling brand. Under CAP Code rule 16.3.13, marketing communications for gambling services must not be targeting any individuals under 18 years of age through the context or media selected for the promotion. Also, the ASA requires advertising materials not to be placed in media where the underage category was above 25% of the audience.
Considering the fact that the printed ad was not placed in media or location that is especially targetting under-18s, the advertising watchdog had to check on the proportion of underage individuals who made up the audience. Taking into account the data provided by National Express West Midlands, the highest percentage of people under 18 who used this exact bus route was as high as 15%, which is well below the 25% threshold. Also, only 3% of all passengers purchased child-fare paper tickets, which makes the percentage even lower.
Therefore, the ASA concluded that the Merkur Cashino ad was not in breach of any CAP Code rules and no further measures against the gambling company should be taken.
- Author
Olivia Cole
