Bingo Operator GVC Holdings vs ASA – Who Won?

If you’re a TV addict, chances are you might have seen a very famous gambling ad from Ladbrokes which depicted everyday activities in the form of gambling. The advertisement showed a man celebrating after filling his car with fuel and realising it stopped on £77.77. Later, this same man is purchasing a sandwich and as innocent as it seems, he stands here saying “hit me” as each new filling is added.

“Doubling down at the right time” is also quoted within the add, but he’s not the only actor in the spotlight. A woman can be seen circulating a clothes rail, one filled with only red and black garments. She gazes into the screen and says there are “few things more exciting than a spinning wheel.”

If you’re paying attention, the add was designed to incorporate gambling (generally online casino gambling) into everyday activities and not everyone was happy about it. Despite the non-government body Clearcast pre-approving the television spot for Ladbrokes, many complaints were submitted to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which instantly triggered an investigation.

Rejecting the claim that gambling took precedent over what people do in their daily lives, Ladbrokes said the advertisement campaign was just a “fun parody of everyday life.” And it would seem ASA agreed stating that the characters were purely reminded momentarily of gambling and that they didn’t stop what they were doing to gamble.

GVC Holdings 1 – ASA 0. But here’s where they find themselves in trouble. Coral, another subsidiary of the gambling giant, found itself in major trouble over a single tweet on Twitter, and it’s all to do with horseracing.

Neigh Winning This One

Promoting businesses on social media is not uncommon but. When it comes to gambling (whether that be spinning the slots or hitting the tables), you’ve got to be very careful. Coral put out a tweet promoting a free bet on horseracing if the punters horse failed to finish the race. Now, this in itself is not exactly terrible, but a link was posted on that same tweet with a video attached and it said, “have another go!”

A complaint was raised sighting the tweet was completely irresponsible, and the complainant even went as far as to claim the message was there purely to encourage people to gamble repeatedly.

Coral attempted to address concerns by claiming the promotion was some sort of insurance if the bettors horse fell before the finish line and that this type of bet was popular within the gambling industry. Customers were not obliged to gamble, or place bets and they apologised if it caused any social or financial harm.

ASA failed to agree: “we considered that the claim ‘Have another go,’ together with the video ad which featured a man whose mood was instantly lifted following a free bet back, gave the impression that the decision to gamble had been taken lightly and was therefore likely to encourage some consumers to take up the offer repetitively.

For that reason, we concluded that the ad was likely to encourage gambling behaviour that was potentially harmful and therefore breached the code.” Their punishment? A warning not to put out tweets or messages of this nature again, making it GVC Holdings 1 – ASA 1.

Source: “Mixed Day for GVC Holdings with UK Gambling Ad Watchdog”. Golden Casino News. June 04, 2020.