UK gambling adverts banned for not being kept away from children

Four different gambling adverts in the UK have been banned by regulators after failing to make sure that the Ads were targeted away from children.

Dunder, Betfair Bingo, William Hill Vegas and LottoGo Euromillions were the 4 companies whose ads appeared in the Looney Tunes World of Mayhem app in February. Players were given the opportunity to earn “gems” in the game through watching ads such as those listed above.

LottoGo and Dunder have claimed that the adverts were not placed on the app by them, and they had been put on there through an affiliate company, Tapjoy. Both firms have now terminated their agreement with Tapjoy.

Betfair are another one of the companies that have also terminated their relationship with Tapjoy after this scandal. They have released a statement which says “the complaints related to the actions of a third party which we have now stopped working with once the error had been discovered.

William Hill have also come out and stated “we are currently conducting a full review of our ways of working with affiliates to ensure that such a situation is not repeated again”

William Hill have also since come out to state that they will not be placing ads on the app through Tapjoy in the future. They have also blacklisted the app. Tapjoy have claimed that the Looney Tunes had incorrectly implemented a “mature gambling” setting, hence why the ads had appeared on the game.

The Publishers of Looney Tunes World of Mayhem, Scopely, claimed that their games are not targeted at children. They also went on to state that children under the age of 16 are not allowed to play their games in the EU.

However, this contradicts what has been said by the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA have stated that the app has a rating of PEGI 7, which means that people over the age of 7 are eligible to play.

The ASA have ruled that these adds should not be used again to ensure that under 18 year olds playing the game, are not exposed to them.