Advertising Standards Authority receives a number of complaints
As if it was not enough, after facing serious opposition from the UK National Lottery operator Camelot, the new Health Lottery, recently launched by Richard Desmond had to face an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority following a number of complaints filed with the authority.
What the ASA is now investigating are two potentially misleading Health Lottery ads, published in two front page articles in the Express and Star newspapers owned by Desmond. They were called a “Lotto tonic for Britain” and “New lottery to make Britain better”, and complainants say they were not and should have been clearly marked as advertisements or advertorials.
In the ads, the lottery claimed that players who pick five winning numbers will receive GBP100 000 and that Health Lottery players are seven times more likely to win than in the National Lottery.
According to Health Lottery chief exec Martin Hall, the chances of a top prize winner earning less than GBP100 000 were a “tiny 0.009 percent”
“Our use of the odds of winning our top prize compared to the National Lottery are based on mathematical fact. The chance of winning our top prize is 2,000,000:1 compared with 14,000,000:1 for the top prize on the National Lottery, and obviously people understand that the prize payouts are different,” he concluded.
As if it was not enough, after facing serious opposition from the UK National Lottery operator Camelot, the new Health Lottery, recently launched by Richard Desmond had to face an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority following a number of complaints filed with the authority.
What the ASA is now investigating are two potentially misleading Health Lottery ads, published in two front page articles in the Express and Star newspapers owned by Desmond. They were called a “Lotto tonic for Britain” and “New lottery to make Britain better”, and complainants say they were not and should have been clearly marked as advertisements or advertorials.
In the ads, the lottery claimed that players who pick five winning numbers will receive GBP100 000 and that Health Lottery players are seven times more likely to win than in the National Lottery.
According to Health Lottery chief exec Martin Hall, the chances of a top prize winner earning less than GBP100 000 were a “tiny 0.009 percent”
“Our use of the odds of winning our top prize compared to the National Lottery are based on mathematical fact. The chance of winning our top prize is 2,000,000:1 compared with 14,000,000:1 for the top prize on the National Lottery, and obviously people understand that the prize payouts are different,” he concluded.
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Comments (1)
hazza
10/31/11, 11:10:32 PM
Once you start says what is obvious to people your standing on shaky ground. How people involved in any facet of the gambling industry can make assumptions mystifies me. I just an occasional player and bonus taker whose grown to be fairly pessimistic about any gambling interaction.
