The UK’s advertising watchdog has spanked online lottery betting operator Lottoland for misrepresenting the size of its potential US lottery payouts.
On Wednesday, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint filed against the Lottoland.co.uk website for its July 2017 promotion of a “PowerBall £169 million” jackpot. The complainant felt the ad was misleading due to the jackpot’s value being contingent on whether the prize was paid in a lump-sum or by installments.
Lottoland defended its promo, saying that the options for taking either a lump-sum payment or a 30-year annuity, as well as the difference in ultimate monetary value, were clearly specified in the site’s FAQ and T&C’s.
The ASA acknowledged that the FAQ did indicate that Lottoland replicated the official US lottery payout rules, including the 38% tax provision, the fact that the lump sum represented 60% of the total annuity payout, as well as the rule about splitting the potential payout should the official PowerBall prize be divvied up among multiple winners.
However, the ASA held that consumers were likely to assume from Lottoland’s big-type ad that the value indicated was what they stood to collect if they matched the right PowerBall numbers. As such, Lottoland’s promo was misleading because it quoted a prize value “that would never be paid.” Lottoland was ordered to be more upfront about its payout system in future ads.
The ASA also took exception to a SlottyVegas.com online promo that claimed “our games pay more.” SlottyVegas’ parent company NRR Entertainment claimed the statement was based on its Supercharged Wins feature that added extra funds to each winning round, thereby providing a higher payout than if the feature wasn’t applied.
The ASA wasn’t buying it, saying consumers were led to believe that they’d receive a higher payout from the games on the SlottyVegas site than from games on a rival operator’s site. The ASA found that SlottyVegas had provided no evidence to support this belief, making the promo misleading.
As if to prove that they’re not entirely joyless scolds, the ASA declined to uphold a complaint against a William Hill television spot promoting the company’s Bet Boost odds enhancer. The ad, which appeared in December 2017, featured a smartphone displaying odds for football matches scheduled for six months later. The complainant suggested these odds were misleading.
Hills defended the ad, saying that, while the odds displayed were roughly comparable to what the company were likely to offer on those matches, only a proper tool would presume these odds to be there for anything other than illustrative purposes. And the ASA, in its infinite wisdom, agreed.
Showing posts with label ASA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASA. Show all posts
October 28, 2015
Bet365, Coral and Totesport tweets banned over Jordan Spieth images
Bet365, Coral and Totesport have hit a triple bogey after the UK advertising watchdog censured the bookmakers for using images of US Open champion Jordan Spieth to promote betting.
Under the UK advertising code it is illegal to use people aged under 25, or someone who appears to be so, to play a “significant role” in promoting gambling and betting.
Images of Spieth, who is 22, featured in Twitter campaigns for the bookmakers.
Coral said the photo of Spieth was used to illustrate the odds available rather than promote specific bonus offers, but it had made changes to ensure that similar tweets complied with the code.
Bet365 said its tweet reported on a major sporting event and therefore did not breach the code, while Totesport said Spieth was neither a young person nor vulnerable and the ad did not show him gambling or indulging in juvenile or loutish behaviour.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the tweets were designed to promote each bookmaker’s brand and referred to future sporting events on which the public might consider betting.
“We considered the tweet[s] [were] directly connected with the supply or transfer of goods,” said the ASA. “We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and breached the [advertising] code. The ad must not be shown again in its current form.”
Under the UK advertising code it is illegal to use people aged under 25, or someone who appears to be so, to play a “significant role” in promoting gambling and betting.
Images of Spieth, who is 22, featured in Twitter campaigns for the bookmakers.
Coral said the photo of Spieth was used to illustrate the odds available rather than promote specific bonus offers, but it had made changes to ensure that similar tweets complied with the code.
Bet365 said its tweet reported on a major sporting event and therefore did not breach the code, while Totesport said Spieth was neither a young person nor vulnerable and the ad did not show him gambling or indulging in juvenile or loutish behaviour.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the tweets were designed to promote each bookmaker’s brand and referred to future sporting events on which the public might consider betting.
“We considered the tweet[s] [were] directly connected with the supply or transfer of goods,” said the ASA. “We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and breached the [advertising] code. The ad must not be shown again in its current form.”
March 20, 2014
Paddy Power Oscar Pistorius ‘money back if he walks’ ad broke rules and brought UK advertising into disrepute, ASA finds
A Paddy Power advert that offered a “money back if he walks” guarantee for betting on the Oscar Pistorius murder trial broke rules and brought the UK’s advertising industry into disrepute, the regulator has found.
In a ruling issued today against the bookmaker, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad had amassed 5,525 complaints – a record in Britain.
The ASA had already ordered Paddy Power to withdraw the ad pending the investigation, after complainants said it trivialised domestic violence towards women and made fun of double amputee Pistorius’ disability.
The regulator ruled that those who saw the advert would interpret it as a reference to someone who had died and to the Paralympic athlete as a double amputee, the BBC reported
“Given the content of the ad, and the prevailing circumstances at the time of its publication, we concluded that it brought advertising into disrepute,” it said.
Paddy Power appeared aware at the time the advert was published, in the Sun on Sunday newspaper on 2 March, that it would prove controversial.
The company also offered odds on the outcome of the murder trial of 7/4 for a guilty verdict and 2/5 for not guilty, in an offer branded “vile” and “disgusting” by social media users.
Writing in a blog post at the time, the firm said: “Global media attention, bar-stool conversation and pillow talk will shift from the Oscars on Sunday night to Oscar on Monday when the Blade Runner straps on his prosthetic limbs for the long walk to the high court.
“As an international media circus descends on South Africa, Paddy Power's marketing department has entered the fray.”
Today the company defended the reference to Pistorius’ disability on the grounds that it was “subtle”, and a spokesperson told the BBC: “It was one ad in one newspaper on one day. I don't think there's an apology coming - criticise us for bad taste, which is fine.”
In a ruling issued today against the bookmaker, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad had amassed 5,525 complaints – a record in Britain.
The ASA had already ordered Paddy Power to withdraw the ad pending the investigation, after complainants said it trivialised domestic violence towards women and made fun of double amputee Pistorius’ disability.
The regulator ruled that those who saw the advert would interpret it as a reference to someone who had died and to the Paralympic athlete as a double amputee, the BBC reported
“Given the content of the ad, and the prevailing circumstances at the time of its publication, we concluded that it brought advertising into disrepute,” it said.
Paddy Power appeared aware at the time the advert was published, in the Sun on Sunday newspaper on 2 March, that it would prove controversial.
The company also offered odds on the outcome of the murder trial of 7/4 for a guilty verdict and 2/5 for not guilty, in an offer branded “vile” and “disgusting” by social media users.
Writing in a blog post at the time, the firm said: “Global media attention, bar-stool conversation and pillow talk will shift from the Oscars on Sunday night to Oscar on Monday when the Blade Runner straps on his prosthetic limbs for the long walk to the high court.
“As an international media circus descends on South Africa, Paddy Power's marketing department has entered the fray.”
Today the company defended the reference to Pistorius’ disability on the grounds that it was “subtle”, and a spokesperson told the BBC: “It was one ad in one newspaper on one day. I don't think there's an apology coming - criticise us for bad taste, which is fine.”
February 21, 2012
Paddy Power faces investigation over 'transgendered ladies' ad
The advertising regulator is to investigate a TV ad by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power that asks viewers to spot the "transgendered ladies" among a crowd of racing fans at the Cheltenham festival.
The Advertising Standards Authority received 360 complaints that the campaign is offensive towards transgender people.
Paddy Power and broadcaster BSkyB were accused of inciting transphobia with the campaign, which promised to make the festival's Ladies' Day "even more exciting by adding some beautiful transgendered ladies: Spot the stallions from the mares".
The ad goes on to show a series of shots of well-dressed racegoers with a voiceover guessing which are men and which are women.
The campaign, which broadcast on Sky Sports at the weekend, immediately drew criticism from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
LGBT Lib Dems Northern Ireland said Paddy Power has brought "shame on itself" and that the marketing tactic was in poor taste at a time when the UK government is trying to wipe out all forms of prejudice in sport.
"To use the subject of transgender in such a degrading and mocking way is a clear-cut case of transphobia," said the organisation on its website.
"What is worse is that the advert appeared during Sky Sports' very popular Soccer Saturday not just once but three times. So while we have the UK government running a campaign to wipe out transphobia in sport we have the nation's number one sports channel showing such an advert."
Paddy Power is no stranger to controversy, having recently featured Imogen Thomas in an ad campaign in a bid to capitalise on the publicity surrounding Ryan Giggs's affair.
In 2010 the bookmaker aired what was to become the most complained-about ad of the year featuring blind footballers kicking a cat.
The CheltenhamFestival.net website said the campaign was "tongue in cheek" but admitted that some people have found it "in poor taste".
Invited to add their comments, visitors to the site branded it "a disgrace" and "simply horrendous". "I have never seen such an insensitive hate ad," wrote Alex Kennedy.
Stephen Glenn wrote: "We have a government that is working to get homophobia and transphobia out of sport. Yet we have a betting company linking this gross advert to the name of the Cheltenham Festival. I don't think the staff for Cheltenham should be asking us what we think of this but should have condemned it outright themselves."
A spokesman for Paddy Power said that the ad campaign has generated "plenty of public response" which it says has been "healthily mixed".
"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," said Paddy Power. " This ad is simply a bit of mild-mannered fun in the runup to the Cheltenham festival."
The Advertising Standards Authority received 360 complaints that the campaign is offensive towards transgender people.
Paddy Power and broadcaster BSkyB were accused of inciting transphobia with the campaign, which promised to make the festival's Ladies' Day "even more exciting by adding some beautiful transgendered ladies: Spot the stallions from the mares".
The ad goes on to show a series of shots of well-dressed racegoers with a voiceover guessing which are men and which are women.
The campaign, which broadcast on Sky Sports at the weekend, immediately drew criticism from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
LGBT Lib Dems Northern Ireland said Paddy Power has brought "shame on itself" and that the marketing tactic was in poor taste at a time when the UK government is trying to wipe out all forms of prejudice in sport.
"To use the subject of transgender in such a degrading and mocking way is a clear-cut case of transphobia," said the organisation on its website.
"What is worse is that the advert appeared during Sky Sports' very popular Soccer Saturday not just once but three times. So while we have the UK government running a campaign to wipe out transphobia in sport we have the nation's number one sports channel showing such an advert."
Paddy Power is no stranger to controversy, having recently featured Imogen Thomas in an ad campaign in a bid to capitalise on the publicity surrounding Ryan Giggs's affair.
In 2010 the bookmaker aired what was to become the most complained-about ad of the year featuring blind footballers kicking a cat.
The CheltenhamFestival.net website said the campaign was "tongue in cheek" but admitted that some people have found it "in poor taste".
Invited to add their comments, visitors to the site branded it "a disgrace" and "simply horrendous". "I have never seen such an insensitive hate ad," wrote Alex Kennedy.
Stephen Glenn wrote: "We have a government that is working to get homophobia and transphobia out of sport. Yet we have a betting company linking this gross advert to the name of the Cheltenham Festival. I don't think the staff for Cheltenham should be asking us what we think of this but should have condemned it outright themselves."
A spokesman for Paddy Power said that the ad campaign has generated "plenty of public response" which it says has been "healthily mixed".
"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," said Paddy Power. " This ad is simply a bit of mild-mannered fun in the runup to the Cheltenham festival."
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