UK ad watchdog upholds complaint against Postcode Lottery ad in Daily Mail

The ASA found the advert suggested that playing the lottery could be a way to solve financial concerns.

UK.- The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against an advert for the Postcode Lottery that appeared in the Daily Mail newspaper on July 1. The regulator ruled that the advert suggested that playing the lottery could solve financial concerns, which is prohibited under the rules for gambling ads.

The advert featured a fictional situation, showing an NHS nurse and her fiancé. A line of text read “we had to postpone the wedding when Craig lost his job“. That was followed by a second text that read: “couple’s wedding is back on after they scooped £62,500 on People’s Postcode Lottery”.

Further detail said that the couple “had just paid the deposit for their big day when Craig heard that he was being made redundant. Now the pair are looking forward not only to their wedding next year but also to planning a honeymoon after winning £62,500 when their Nottinghamshire postcode was announced as the winner on Saturday”.

The Postcode Lottery attempted to argue that the advert “did not suggest the winners had been struggling financially before winning the prize” and did “not unduly play on people’s fears of financial pressures nor referred to salary or debts”. The Daily Mail also argued that it did not believe the ad suggested that participation in the lottery was a way to achieve financial security. 

However, the ASA said: “The ASA considered consumers would interpret the headline “couple’s wedding is back on after they scooped £62,500 on People’s Postcode Lottery” as making a direct connection between winning the People’s Postcode Lottery and the couple being able to resume their wedding plans.”

It ruled that the advert must not appear again in the same form and told the Postcode Lottery not to again imply that participating in a lottery could be a solution to financial concerns.

Recent ASA rulings on gambling ads 

Many of the ASA’s recent rulings have been against gambling ads that breached new rules against using people who appeal to minors. However, last month it rejected a complaint against William Hill over a Twitter ad featuring former footballer Robbie Savage. It ruled that Savage’s inclusion in the post, talking about Leeds United’s chances of relegation, did not appeal to under-18s.

The ad had been identified using the ASA’s Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to identify possible breaches of advertising regulations. Posted on February 10, it featured the William Hill logo and BeGambleAware. It ended with text that read “It’s who you play with. William Hill”.

William Hill said the ad had been targeted at 25 to 49-year-olds who followed the Leeds United and Sky Sports Twitter (X) accounts. It said it conducts “thorough analysis” of the personalities it uses in its ads with regular reviews. It had concluded that Savage does not appeal to under-18s as he retired several years ago and hasn’t played for a high-level club for 15 years or for a national team since 2004.

The ASA has not categorically stated that retired football players are suitable for use in ads, taking the view that operators must analyse each case. When the new gambling ad regulations were introduced it said only that “retired or lower-league players may be allowed”.

However, in February, it rejected complaints about the use of former footballers Peter Crouch and Micah Richards in adverts for Sky Bet and Paddy Power respectively. These rulings contrast with ASA’s decisions on adverts featuring current players. Last month, it warned Hillside Sports, the company behind bet365, over a Twitter advert featuring Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.