UK Advertising Regulator Slams Play’n GO for Child-Friendly Gambling Ads

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued two rulings this week related to gambling companies targeting minors with promotions. 

In one case, the ASA ruled that Play’n GO, a supplier of slot game content, had breached the UK’s CAP Code by featuring cartoon-style imagery with strong appeal to under-18s.

The other case related to Mecca Bingo portions on Facebook. In this case, the ASA did not uphold the complaint, but Mecca has nonetheless removed the ads. 

Play’n GO Images Strongly Appeal To Children

The Play’n GO ads featured a cartoon Easter Bunny, a robot DJ, and anime-style princesses – all promoting various slot games, and the promotions could be seen next to children’s email inboxes.

In an official statement, the ASA noted that the images were likely to strongly appeal to children, and should not appear in gambling promotions unless robust age-gating measures are in place.

The ruling concluded by stating:

“The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Play’n GO Malta Ltd not to include imagery that was likely to have strong appeal to those under 18 years of age in their ads in future.”

Play’n GO, which is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission to supply gaming software, defended itself by saying the characters were designed to appeal to adult players. 

The company explained the ads were distributed via Adroll, using self-declared age data and cookie-based retargeting. However, the ASA concluded that these measures were insufficient to exclude under-18s from seeing the promotions. 

The ASA made a similar judgment on LiveScore Bet last month when its promotions had been inadvertently shown to minors. 

In the case of Play’n GO, the agency was more damning due to the imagery used in the ads. The agency, however, lacks the authority to issue any further punishment beyond stating the ads should not appear again. 

Mecca Bingo Complaint Not Upheld

In contrast, a complaint against Mecca Bingo Ltd was not upheld. The issue concerned a Facebook post on Mecca Bingo Luton’s page in 2022. 

The post invited users to name Tom Hanks films based on emojis such as teddy bears, rockets, and mermaids. The complainant argued that the emoji use could appeal to children.

However, Mecca responded that the post was aimed at existing adult followers and did not promote a gambling event or offer.

Mecca noted that all followers must self-declare as over 18 to join the group, and Meta data reveals that none were underage users, while only 2.9% were aged between 18 and 24. 

The ASA agreed, concluding that while emojis may have cartoon-like qualities, the post’s context—a puzzle focused on adult cinema—was unlikely to appeal strongly to minors.

The ruling concluded by stating, “We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12 (Gambling), but did not find it in breach.”

ASA Gets Nod of Support from GambleAware for Recent Actions

These rulings come amid growing concern from regulators and campaigners about the visibility of gambling content to young people. 

GambleAware, a leading gambling harms charity, welcomed the investigations into ads that could be seen to target minors.

“We support the ongoing regulation of gambling advertising to reduce youth exposure. Strong appeal criteria and effective age verification are crucial,” said a spokesperson.

The organization launched a new app this week, GambleAware Support Tool, to offer help to those seeking to reduce or stop gambling. 

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