Coral ad banned, as Ladbrokes one is overlooked

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an ad from Coral but rejected several complaints against a Ladbrokes TV ad, suggesting it encouraged irresponsible gambling behavior. 

ASA turned a blind eye to Ladbrokes ad 

A TV ad for British betting and gambling company, Ladbrokes, aired on February 29, 2020, showing a man filling his car up with petrol, while a voiceover stated: "It’s all about getting them to line up."

Five people complained the ad portrayed the activity of gambling as being a priority in the characters’ lives, by showing addicted gamblers in several scenarios which mimicked gambling as part of their daily routine.

Ladbrokes defended themselves by assuring that the ad was intended to demonstrate the excitement of gaming in a metaphorical way, exaggerating real life. The firm voiced the analogies do not suggest that gambling is taking control of the characters’ work or other daily activities.

The situations created around the petrol station, sandwich shop, and the high street department store were intended to not portray the characters in a glamorous way, with the company also stating that “none of the scenarios showed gambling, real or imagined, taking priority over actions”.

ASA published an assessment clearing the allegations, in which the following was stated:
 

"The ad presented three characters engaging in everyday tasks and real-life scenarios that appeared to remind them of different online casino games: a slot machine; blackjack game; and roulette wheel. 

"The ASA considered that whilst the characters were depicted as momentarily reminded of gambling and engaged in that analogy of the situation, they were not so distracted that they didn’t continue with those tasks. 

"We also considered that the brief scenarios depicted did not present gambling as indispensable or imply that it took priority in any aspect of the characters’ lives. We, therefore, concluded that the ad did not portray, condone, or encourage gambling behavior that was socially irresponsible, or portray gambling as indispensable or as taking priority in life."

The Regulator’s conflicting decisions 

Furthermore, the UK's regulator of advertising has also upheld one complaint issued against a post on Coral’s official Twitter page, from March 2020. The text appeared to encourage gamblers to place bets, as well as featuring a link to a video ad showing a jockey set to fall off his horse and another text encouraging people to place another bet even if they lost.

Coral justified that the ‘Fail to Finish’ ad did not encourage repeated or socially irresponsible gambling, commenting that: 

"Consumers were not obliged to take up the offer and did not have to use additional funds to qualify for the offer if they decided to have another go. We did not consider that the ad applied undue pressure to place another bet or encouraged gambling any more than what a consumer would normally gamble."

The regulator supported the complaint and told the company that the ad must not appear in its current form, as well as asking them to not present their promotions in ways that were likely to encourage repetitive participation in gambling:

"The ASA understood the ad promoted a “Fail to Finish” offer which gave consumers a free bet token matching their bet value up to £10 in the event that their horse failed to finish. We acknowledged that the “Fail to Finish” promotion did not oblige consumers to take up the offer and that consumers did not have to use additional funds to qualify for the offer.

"However, we considered that the claim “Have another go”, together with the video ad which featured a man whose mood was instantly lifted following a free bet back, gave the impression that the decision to gamble had been taken lightly and was therefore likely to encourage some consumers to take up the offer repetitively. For that reason, we concluded that the ad was likely to encourage gambling behavior that was potentially harmful and therefore breached the code."