UK watchdog sanctions Gala Spins ad

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has taken action over another gambling advert that is argued could appeal to children.

UK.- The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has taken action against a social media advert promoting Gala Spins.

The advert, which appeared on Facebook, received complaints due to claims that it appealed to children.

It carried the caption “It’s a Rollercoaster of Cuteness” and a reference to the game Fluffy Favourites with images of toy animals.

Gala Spins, which belongs to GVC Holdings’ Ladbrokes Coral subsidiary, argued that the advert was only posted on its official Facebook page, which is only open to users aged over 18.

However, it also said that the video showing stuffed animals was old and had been posted by mistake.

It said the advert was part of a wider multi-channel campaign aimed at women aged between 18 and 65, and it showed stats demonstrating that the ad had not been seen by anyone under 18.

The ASA upheld the complaint, saying that the age-gating of Gala’s page depended on the audience self-reporting their age, and that the brand could not guarantee under 18s falsely reported themselves as being older.

It said the ad’s cartoon-like imagery, the game’s name and the caption were all likely to appeal to under-18s. The ad must not appear again in its current form.

The ASA recently upheld complaints against ads from Bonus Accumulator.