ASA rulings finds misleading ads through same affiliates from 888, SkyBet, Casumo and Ladbrokes

888, SkyBet, Casumo and Ladbrokes have all fallen victim of the same dubious affiliate that was suggesting gambling could provide an escape from personal problems under the firms’ names, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) rulings revealed.

The website’s www.casinohacks.co and www.24hourlynews.co.uk were the two websites featuring the ads that targeted vulnerable people with promises of solutions to their financial concerns.

For example, the Ladbrokes Casino ad featured an editorial that told a story of a man called William whose wife’s cancer related medical bills had left him in debt and depressed.

It read: “With little to no money to spend he admits he laughed and almost scrolled past it until he saw they were offering a promotion to that would reward him with 600 Free Chances At Age of The Gods Game which at over £700,000.00 was too hard to pass up”.

The ASA stated: “…they (Ladbrokes) said that the ad contravened the terms of the agreement they had with the affiliate and that they have warned all of their affiliated partners of their conduct in respect of these types of ads.

“In addition, they have issued renewed affiliate guidance to all affiliates to remind them of their obligations.”

The advertisements that featured the other gambling sites were of a similar nature, promising results that could pull someone out of depression or major debt instantly.

In 888’s case, the ASA noted that the ad was directed to its website, and, while they maintained the ad had been produced by an affiliate “we nonetheless considered that, as the beneficiaries of the marketing material, they were responsible for the ad and for responding to the ASA investigation.

Advertisers are required to ensure that their marketing communications are obviously identifiable as such, and that they made clear their commercial intent.

The ASA also noted that the ad had a banner at the top of the pages, which stated “Advertorial.”

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