The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint made against an affiliate platform which showed up on a Google search query related to “help with gambling”.
The complaint was made against marketing platform Smart Gravity Ltd, which operates the casino comparison site top10onlinecasinoreviews.co.uk.
In addition to comparison content, the platform also includes reviews and information pertaining to operators licensed by the UK’s Gambling Commission.
The site appeared in a Google search for the search term ‘help with gambling’, leading the complainant to challenge whether the ad was irresponsibly targeted.
Smart Gravity launched an internal investigation after receiving the complaint, learning the ad had been served by the Microsoft Advertising platform.
The firm told the ASA its ad campaigns were designed to target adult users in the UK, and that it maintained an ongoing compliance framework to minimise the likelihood that ads would appear alongside “inappropriate search queries”.
The framework included “periodic reviews of campaign settings and targeting, continuous review of negative keyword exclusions, and internal compliance monitoring”.
Smart Gravity also emphasised it had “no commercial interest in advertising to individuals seeking support for gambling-related harm”, and it “did not intentionally target vulnerable consumers, underage users or individuals seeking gambling support or self-exclusion services”.
In addition, the firm submitted its negative keyword list to the ASA, which showed its ads weren’t supposed to appear in results for searches relating to gambling addiction, safer gambling and any topics related to gambling harm.
The ASA upheld the complaint, claiming Smart Gravity’s controls had not provided a “sufficiently robust safeguard” to stop the ad from being seen by potentially vulnerable consumers.
The advertising watchdog ruled the ad must not be served following a search of the phrase “help with gambling”, reminding Smart Gravity of its duty to ensure its search ads are responsibly targeted in future.
An ASA statement read: “We acknowledged Smart Gravity Ltd operated a negative keyword list intended to exclude their ads from appearing in response to searches related to gambling addiction, safer gambling and gambling harm.
“However, we understood they used a mix of broader keyword matching options, some of which meant their ads could be displayed when a consumer searched for terms which related to, but did not contain, keywords that were targeted by the advertiser.
“We considered the use of broader keyword-matching options meant there was a risk the ad would be served in response to searches indicating a consumer might be experiencing gambling-related harm.
“In those circumstances, the advertiser’s negative keyword list and targeting controls had not provided a sufficiently robust safeguard against the ad being shown to potentially vulnerable consumers.”
The regulator concluded: “Because we considered there was a strong likelihood that vulnerable consumers seeking to reduce their exposure to and engagement with gambling ads and websites had been served an ad promoting casino websites following a search for ‘help with gambling’, we concluded the ad had not been responsibly targeted.”
Back in July, the ASA upheld a complaint against BOYLE Sports over an ad posted on the Racing Post website which promoted irresponsible gambling.
The ASA also upheld its challenge against a paid-for Facebook ad posted by Mr Vegas during the same month which was deemed to have a strong appeal to under-18s.
The post ASA upholds complaint against affiliate over SEO shortcoming first appeared on EGR Intel.
Advertising watchdog warns Smart Gravity of its future conduct after its domain appears in a search for the term ‘help with gambling’
The post ASA upholds complaint against affiliate over SEO shortcoming first appeared on EGR Intel.