UKGC warns lottery operators over advertising

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has urged lottery operators to ensure advertising adheres to its rules after a recent case involving the Health Lottery.

In November, the Health Lottery was issued a warning by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over an advert regarding the amounts that can be won in its draws.

The ad said players could win up to £100,000 (€112,600/$137,400) in each of its five weekly draws, meaning it could pay out up to £500,000 in jackpots every week.

However, the ASA ruled that as there had been no winners of the £100,000 top prize since February 2015 when the five weekly draws were introduced, it said the claim of winning up to £100,000 “no longer represented a realistic amount that was likely to be won as a jackpot prize”.

As a result, the Health Lottery was ordered to withdraw the advert and told “not to exaggerate the likely winnings available in the lottery” in future ads.

The UKGC is now using this case as an example to other lottery operators in the UK, which are all required to adhere to ASA rules.

In a statement, the UKGC said: “One of the key licensing objectives is that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, this includes any advertising carried out by licensed operators.

“Where information about the prizes available in your lottery is published you must make sure this is done in a clear, transparent and unambiguous way so that consumers will be entirely clear of the prizes being offered.

“In particular, adverts must not mislead by exaggerating the likely winnings available.”

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