ASA bans online scratchcard adverts

Two online ads for online scratchcard site Prime Scratchcards have been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after being deemed irresponsible for implying that gambling offers a quick fix solution to financial difficulties.

The first ad asks the viewer: “Are you feeling lucky?” and shows the image of a woman holding a baby with the following text: “I am a single mom & I live on family benefits, I played & won £46,799 and it is incredible for me. I was very stressed for my son’s future and I couldn’t sleep, now that I won I know that I can help my son build a better future.”

The second scratchcard advert shows the image of a smiling woman holding a cheque with a testimonial stating that the woman in the picture won £21,544 and that the win had arrived at an opportune moment as she had just been made redundant.

The ASA received eleven complaints about the two ads; the concern was that the ads exploited the vulnerabilities of people by suggesting that gambling was the answer to financial worries and debt.

PrimeGaming, operator of the scratchcard game site, has reviewed the ads following the complaints to the ASA and have removed the ads from all the sites. Interestingly enough the ads were placed in youth oriented sites such as MSN, Yahoo! and Facebook, and not a single complaint was received by any of the companies.

When contacted, Yahoo! confirmed that said the ad had been viewed approximately 1.2 billion times at the site however the company had received no complaints directly. Yahoo! also confirmed that the scratchcard adverts are targeted to an audience over 18 years of age.
 
Yahoo! also said that they had been assured by PrimeGaming that the testimonial in the second ad was genuine and that their (Yahoo!) policies and procedures in relation with gambling ads were in place according to requirement. Facebook did not comment on the complaints.

Prime Scratchcards uses leading online scratchcards software developed by NeoGames; their flagship scratchcard site is Scratch2Cash.

Written by Anna Richards for Bingostreet – bringing you news from the world of online scratchcards.