888 Spider-Man ad banned
Regulatory body ASA deems ad likely to appeal to children or young people
An advert for an 888 online casino game featuring comic book character Spider-Man and the text ‘The Amazing Spider-Man!’ has been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for being “likely to appeal” to children.
The ad, which appeared on the Gibraltar-licensed operator’s website, featured the Marvel Comics character and was challenged due to the character’s purported appeal to children or people of a young age, as well as the “comic-book style” of the advert.
888 claimed the advert did not predominantly appeal to under 18s due to the character’s global popularity, and noted that it was impossible for children to play the game. The company cited that only members could play the game and needed to provide a name, address and date of birth before becoming a member.
The company also noted that terms and conditions had to be accepted before membership was accepted, and that rules are enforced by background checks and procedures to ensure that those under the legal age of 18 are prohibited from gambling.
However the ASA upheld the complaint against the advert. It noted that the advert was visible on the site regardless of whether or not a user was a member, and while Spiderman does maintain global popularity with adults as well as children, the ad was “likely to have particular appeal to children and young people”.
The ASA ruled that the advert breached the Committee of Advertising Practice code and warned 888 that future gambling adverts are not to contain images likely to appeal to children or young people.
888 is one of a number of egaming operators to see adverts banned in recent months, alongside the likes of SkyBet, Betway, Betfred and William Hill. A further operator, Gala Coral, was deemed by ASA not to be at fault after one of its adverts was mistakenly broadcast during children’s programming last month, receiving credit from the regulator for its “proactive” approach to the issue.