ASA bans “unlimited gambling” ad offer from Napoleons Casinos

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has outlawed a website and Facebook ad for UK-licensed operator Napoleons Casinos that suggested customers could engage in “unlimited gambling”.

The ad – published on 16 August 2021 – said customers could enjoy “unlimited gambling” in venues, while the website FAQ page stated that access to “unrestricted gambling” would be granted to members who were able to produce the appropriate ID.

One complainant challenged whether the claim “unlimited gambling” was socially irresponsible, while the ASA made the same challenge for the phrase “unrestricted gambling”.

In response, Napoleons Casinos said most visitors had a limit set on how much they could spend on gaming tables, slot machines and cash out, although those limits did not apply to full members, hence advertising full membership using the term “unlimited gambling”.

The operator told the ASA it had already decided that the “unlimited gambling” claim could be misconstrued and so decided to use the claim “unrestricted gambling” instead, before changing all their advertising and marketing material accordingly.

Despite this, the ad regulator ruled the claims “unlimited gambling” and “unrestricted gambling” gave the impression that consumers could gamble at the casino without limits or restrictions and therefore condoned or encouraged consumers to engage in irresponsible gambling behaviour that could lead to financial, social or emotional harm.

The ASA ruled the ad should never appear again in its existing form and then warned Napoleons Casinos to ensure that future ads did not create the impression that consumers could gamble without limits or restrictions.

In March, Napoleons Casinos was one of five UK-licensed land-based operators to face enforcement action from the UK Gambling Commission for breaching AML and social responsibility standards.