The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has warned SkillonNet its ads must not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that could lead to financial or emotional harm after complaints were made over a Gecko Play ad on social media.
Gecko Play, a white label casino brand, is a UK domain name registered with the Gambling Commission under the SkillonNet umbrella.
A paid-for Instagram ad for the brand, seen on 1 February 2026, featured an unnamed stand-up comedian performing on stage.
During the set, the comedian said: “Gambling is really like eating pistachios, if you get a good pistachio, you want another good one, if you get a bad one, you want a good one even more” – which received laughs from the audience.
Though the ad featured a GambleAware logo, an 18+ sign and warned gambling could be addictive so must be played responsibly, two complaints were made claiming the ad encouraged socially irresponsible behaviour.
In SkillonNet’s response, the firm argued the pistachio analogy was intended to be “light-hearted” and that it did not refer to financial loss, increasing stakes or risk-free gambling.
Despite its claim, the PlayOGO operator accepted the ad could be interpreted differently and that it was in breach of the CAP Code.
The firm noted the ad had been removed and internal marketing guidance had been updated.
In its reasoning behind upholding the two complaints, the ASA pointed to CAP’s Advertising Guidance on gambling advertising which states that “marketers should take care to avoid trivialising gambling and avoid the impression that the decision to gamble should be taken lightly, for example by not encouraging repetitive participation”.
In comparing gambling to eating pistachios, the advertising watchdog said it was likely consumers took the message to mean gambling was compulsive and hard to stop, and that wanting to eat a good one after tasting a bad one alluded to the continuation of betting even after a loss.
Given the ad was based around a comedy routine, the ASA assessment determined it “trivialised” repeated gambling and encouraged viewers to carry on betting after losses and did not convey the message that gambling decisions should be made with “appropriate caution”.
Use of the GambleAware logo and a responsible gambling message did not alter the overall impression of the ad, according to the ASA.
The assessment read: “We therefore considered the ad gave the impression that the decision to gamble, even in the face of losses, should be taken lightly and that it encouraged or condoned repetitive or frequent participation in gambling, including after losses.
“For that reason, we concluded that the ad was likely to encourage gambling behaviour that was harmful and therefore breached the [CAP] code.”
SkillonNet was told the ad must not appear again in that form and that future ads must not “trivialise gambling or encourage frequent and repetitive participation”.
The post ASA raps SkillOnNet over social media ad trivialising gambling losses first appeared on EGR Intel.
Advertising watchdog rules paid-for Instagram ad for Gecko Play brand encouraged users to keep betting after losing
The post ASA raps SkillOnNet over social media ad trivialising gambling losses first appeared on EGR Intel.