UK watchdog rules against online gambling affiliate
Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against gambling affiliate Optival after a betting advertisement appeared in search results for a term associated with gambling self-exclusion.
The ruling, published October 28, concerned a paid advertisement for Bestbookiesandbettingsites.co.uk displayed after a consumer searched for “self exclusion bookies” on August 10.
The advertisement promoted a comparison of UK betting sites and encouraged users to claim welcome bonuses.
Optival denied deliberately targeting the search term, explaining that its advertising campaigns already contained negative keywords relating to self-exclusion, GamStop and problem gambling.
The company suggested automated search matching was responsible and said it would strengthen its exclusions.
However, the ASA concluded that the advertising controls were insufficient to prevent potentially vulnerable consumers from encountering gambling promotions.
The regulator ruled that the advertisement breached CAP Code rule 1.3 concerning social responsibility.
Optival was instructed to ensure the advertisement did not appear against the same search term again.
The decision highlights the compliance responsibilities facing gambling affiliates using automated search advertising, even when problematic keywords have not been deliberately targeted.
One prominent search engine for instance requires gambling affiliates to be licensed by local regulators to use their Ads program, although there are many instances of where their standards fall much lower.
