Online gambling operator bet-at-home.com has become yet another gaming company to be scolded by the Advertising Standards Authority, following complaints regarding one of its ads. The ad featured a photograph of a woman pulling down her trousers. Text on her underwear said: “If you can read this it’s your lucky day.” The UK independent advertising regulator stated that the said ad should not appear in the same form as the one complained of.
Complaints about the bet-at-home.com ad came after Goran Pantic, a Croatia-based affiliate, posted a tweet featuring the ad and stating “It’s your lucky day! #betting #europaleague #liverpool #klopp” The tweet also linked to bet-at-home’s UK domain.
Following the complaints, the ASA questioned whether the ad was specifically addressing UK-based customers and whether it violated the CAP Code by linking “gambling to sexual success.”
In a response, bet-at-home.com said that Mr. Pantic’s tweet did not target UK customers and was rather a geo-targeted one. In other words, it depended on where the person who clicked on it was based. The gambling operator further explained that the “It’s your lucky day!” campaign was originally designed to be used in the Maltese online gaming market. The company also noted that it is impossible for it to completely avoid such occurrences but that it would make sure that the affiliate would remove the ad in due time.
As for Mr. Pantic himself, he said that he had found the image on the gambling operator’s official website and that the geo-targeting of the bet-at-home.com website made it impossible for UK-based customers to be prevented from clicking on the link and going through to the gaming company’s UK website. The affiliate deleted the tweet shortly after the filed complaints against it.
The ASA released today its decision on the matter. The independent regulator ruled that the tweet indeed targeted UK-based gambling customers and was thus in the ASA’s remit. The regulatory body explained its decision with the fact that the tweet was in English, referred to an English football team and a match that was to take place in England, and would be of interest to English fans.
What is more, under the CAP Code an ad should not relate gambling to sexual success, seduction, and excessively enhanced attractiveness. According to the ASA, the inclusion of the above-mentioned ad, in fact, represented a link between gambling and sexual success. The ad was upheld and should never be presented to UK audience in the form it had been complained of, the regulator said in its ruling.
