The advertising watchdog has banned an internet ad campaign it deemed irresponsible for showing a testimonial by a young mother on benefits who was claimed to have sorted out her financial issues by turning to gambling.
Prime Scratchcards' online campaign ran with the strapline: "Are you feeling lucky?" The ad included a photograph of a woman holding a baby, saying: "I am a single mom & I live on family benefits, I played and won £46,799 and it is incredible for me. I was very stressed for my son's future and I couldn't sleep, now that I won I know that I can help my son build a better future."
A second ad featured a woman who had been made redundant who "decided to play a few games online" and won £21,544 and sorted out her financial problems. The Advertising Standards Authority received 11 complaints that the ad was irresponsible because it exploited vulnerable people and offered a solution to redundancy and debt.
Prime Scratchcard's ads ran on Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft's website network. Microsoft removed the ads. Yahoo said that the redundancy-themed ad had been viewed 1.2bn times but no complaints had been lodged. Facebook did not comment.
PrimeGaming, which operates Prime Scratchcards, said that after being contacted by the ASA a review of the ads found "errors" that could "mislead" consumers and ordered the campaign removed from the internet before the regulator's ruling. The ASA said it was concerned that the messages used in the ads were likely to appeal to those in similar circumstances and "encouraged them to gamble as a means to gaining future financial security".
"We concluded that the [ads were] therefore irresponsible, because [they] exploited the susceptibilities of vulnerable persons, suggested gambling was a solution to financial worries and encouraged gambling behaviour that could lead to financial and emotional harm," said the ASA.
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