UK watchdog raps Hollywoodbets over advert seen by minor
The advert appeared on a virtual football website.
UK. The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against an advert for the South African gambling operator Hollywoodbets. A 16 year old had complained that he was shown a banner ad for the brand on www.the-VFL.com, a website for Virtual Football League and EA SPORTS FC e-sport statistics website, on April 10.
The ad contained the Hollywoodbets logo, and text that stated, “UP TO £30 BACK AS FREE BETS + 20 FREE SPINS” and a “SIGN HERE” button. It also included an image of people dressed in sports clothing, and featured a footballer, a tennis player, a golfer, an American footballer and a jockey riding a horse. The complainant, who had registered his correct date of birth to create a profile on the site, challenged whether the ad was appropriately targeted.
Hollywoodbets International UK said the ad was placed on the-VFL.com by affiliate partner Playhill Ltd t/a Clever Advertising. The partner in turn argued that the Virtual Football League was modelled after real football leagues, where it said consumers were familiar with seeing gambling ads. It also claimed that VFL’s gameplay format (the Pro Clubs 11v11 gameplay option on the video game EA Sports FC) required team coordination, scheduling and commitment, which they believed was more typical of older and more mature players, often aged over 18.
It said that in light of the nature of the site’s content and the gameplay functions it promoted, it believed that the ad had been appropriately placed. It also claimed to have a dedicated team that manually reviewed websites and matched content to appropriate audiences based on interest, age and location.
It stressed that ads served on EA Sports FC-related websites based on the latest demographics for the video game, which indicated that minors accounted for less than 25 per cent of players. As for the ad in question, it said it was approved for display on the VFL homepage, meaning it should have been visible to visitors before they logged in, but not after.
For the VLF’s part, it said it did not select the ads that appeared on its website, and that once it was made aware of the complaint, it contacted the company to have the ad removed.
The ASA upheld the complaint, noting that the CAP Code states that marketing communications for gambling must not be directed at people aged under 18 through the selection of media or context in which they appeared.
It said: “We acknowledged that Clever Advertising maintained that the ad was approved from display prior to user log in, but understood the complainant was logged in when the ad was served to them. Because the ad was served to a user of the website who was known to be under 18 by their registered login details, we considered that the ad was directed at those below the age of 18 through the selection of the media in which it appeared and therefore breached the Code.
“The ad must not be used again without further, specific targeting to minimise the likelihood of under-18s being exposed to it. We told Hollywoodbets International UK Ltd t/a Hollywoodbets to ensure that their ads were appropriately targeted and not targeted at under-18s.”
Earlier this month, the ASA upheld complaints against two advertisements for the sports betting app LEBOM. It says the ads on social media in April had encouraged socially irresponsible gambling behaviour as well as excessive drinking and, putting them breach of the UK Code of Non-broadcasting Advertising (“CAP Code”).
The ads in question featured a video of Tiktokker Mashtag Brady. In one, he and friends show how the sports betting app works. Mashtag commented “let’s get pissed” in the ad and discussed a “forfeit” for the person who ranked last on the group’s leaderboard in the App, plus a prize pot for the winner.
The group were then shown continuing to drink as the losing member walked through the bar in underwear. The ad finished with Mashtag Brady urging viewers to download the App. In the other ad, Mashtag drank shots whilst stating “Let’s go get absolutely f***** up”.
The complaints argued that the ads portrayed, condoned, or encouraged gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible; and encouraged excessive drinking. Both complaints were upheld.
