32Red Ads Banned Due To Child Appeal
Two betting ads for an online casino have been banned in the UK because of their appeal to children. The two advertisements for 32Red have been removed from circulation because they appear to be a fairy story.
The company responsible for the creation of the ads insist there was no intent there to appeal to children.
A fairytale appeal
The company 32Red, one of the most well-known betting companies in the UK, is a business who excels in sports betting. The allegation is that they created two adverts which is appealing to children and could potentially encourage them to partake in gambling activity. Entering the key phrase “Jack and the beanstalk” returned results which included the two adverts for 32Red. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) questioned whether these two adverts which appeared in response to a common phrase that a child might use on Google represented a problem.
The adverts in question appeared in April and were both paid-for content on Google. In response to typing in “Jack and the beanstalk” the advert appeared which suggested that a bonus of up to £150 could be paid. Join 32Red would pay out a bonus of £15 for every £10 deposited, with a limit of £150. This level of clear betting content in response to a common childhood search term is the reason that the ASA became involved.
Included in error
Jack and the Beanstalk is one of the names of a 32Red game and the company confirmed that it was intentional for the search term to point to gambling content. However it said that the Jack and the Beanstalk game was one of those which had been categorised as high risk. This means it should not have been visible to any children entering the phrase as age would have to be identified for the content to be seen.
Unfortunately for 32Red, the content was visible to those who hadn’t verified their age. The company said that this was an error and that it should not have been included in the slot games that could be viewed by anyone. 32Red admitted their mistake and removed the ads from circulation immediately, as well as rectifying their error in listing the game. The ASA welcomed the move by 32Red but said that a breach of the advertising code had occurred because there was a “strong possibility” that the ads could have been viewed by a child. 32Red have confirmed they are putting steps in place to ensure this kind of mistake cannot recur.
