The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld its challenge against Mr Vegas over a paid-for Facebook ad the regulator deemed to have “strong appeal” among minors.
The ASA ruled the ad contained “high-risk content” such as “child-oriented cartoon content or animated styles”, which in accordance with the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code, must be avoided.
One of the Videoslots-owned brand’s tiles in the Facebook ad included a pink cartoon elephant the ASA deemed to be reminiscent of children’s cartoons or stories, mimicking the imagery associated with popular children’s film franchise Ice Age, the regulator ruled.
Another tile depicted a cartoon robot shark. Conversely, other tiles, including one portraying a fisherman and one which was candy-themed, were not deemed by the ASA to have the same appeal.
The ad displayed 18+, BeGambleAware.org and GAMSTOP logos.
In response, Mr Vegas argued its pink elephant was “psychedelic”, “surreal”, “abstract” and “fantastical” rather than cute or cuddly. The supplier made similar points regarding its shark character, describing it as “action-oriented” and “aggressive”.
Another claim in Mr Vegas’ defence was the presence of its “robust” controls to block the ad from any under-18 audience. The operator said the ad was created with the help of the Meta Ads Manager with a minimum age restriction of 18 years.
Furthermore, the paid-for social media ads were also given custom audiences by Mr Vegas, only featured on platforms where Meta enforces age verification, and posted alongside prominent responsible gambling messages, the operator added.
The ASA said it does not take action against gambling adverts of potential appeal to children which appear only in a medium that excludes under-18s. In other words, a platform which has stringent age verification systems.
However, the ASA concluded that a large proportion of under-18s use Facebook based on Ofcom data – suggesting uptake of 30% of among under 18s – as well as existing research showing a large number of children lie about being over 18 when signing up and using the platform.
The watchdog added: “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Videoslots Ltd, trading as Mr Vegas, not to feature content likely to be of strong appeal to those under 18 years of age.”
The ASA concluded by saying the ad was “irresponsible and breached the [CAP] Code”.
The regulator has dealt with several similar complaints in recent months, including one against oddschecker, which it upheld, as well as cases against Midnite and Betway which were both dismissed.
During an inquiry panel earlier this month, Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst called for the ASA to be given greater powers to combat the rise in influencers promoting unlicensed betting operators.
The post Advertising watchdog deems Mr Vegas Facebook ad “irresponsible” first appeared on EGR Intel.
ASA upholds action against operator and parent company Videoslots, ruling the ad displayed on the Meta-owned platform would have a strong appeal among under-18s
The post Advertising watchdog deems Mr Vegas Facebook ad “irresponsible” first appeared on EGR Intel.