Complaint against Betfair dismissed but ASA rule Foxy ad ‘irresponsible’

Gambling operators Foxy Games and Betfair have both been investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority over advertisements thought to breach advertising guidelines. They upheld the complaint made against Foxy Games but ruled the Betfair did not breached any standards with their advert.

Betfair advert irresponsible?

The Betfair Casino advert featured a man at a boarding gate within an airport, playing at Betfair casino on his mobile phone. While others were rushing to board the plane, the man in question was sat with a coffee, casually enjoying his game at Betfair casino. He then showed the flight attendant what he was playing on his phone and then boarded the plane in a cool and calm manner.

The complaint against this advert, was that it could possibly give the impression that the man was so pre-occupied with playing at the online casino on his phone, he could have potentially missed his flight, given that the advert showed another man panicking to board the plane. It was argued that it could be viewed as someone allowing gambling to take priority in time sensitive situation and was therefore irresponsible.

No breach of guidelines

However Betfair stressed that they took every measure to ensure the advert was fully compliant to BCAP code and approved by the relevant authorities. They claim that the advert intended to show that firstly, the player was not embarrassed by playing in a mobile casino as he showed his phone to the flight attendant, and given the short amount of time before the final boarding call and gate closing,  the player was only intending to have a quick game.

The ASA agreed with Betfair and dismissed the case.

Foxy Games in breach of ASA code

In contrast, the ASA upheld the complaint against Foxy Games who had an online advert under the search term ‘make money online’, which stated ‘earn money online – Foxy Games – play online’

Foxy Games did say that this was down to human error and removed the advert straight away and the ASA ruled that advertisers must not suggest the gambling is a form of financial security or employment, which is what the term ‘earn money online’ suggests. The ASA said Foxy Games must not display this advert again and any future adverts must not suggest that gambling provides financial security.