ASA rules for William Hill Casino in ad row

An email advert for William Hill Casino did not breach the UK advertising code despite a complainant the subject line “you were born to be happy” was irresponsible, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled.

The email contained details of a bonus on a player’s first deposit, and contained the subject line “You were born to be happy”.

The complainant challenged whether the subject line was irresponsible and suggested that gambling could provide an escape from personal problems.

In its response, William Hill said the subject line “did not relate to the specifics of the actual promotion covered by the email”.

The operator also noted that the subject line “did not imply that gambling could provide an escape from personal, professional or educational problems” and didn’t consider it to be socially irresponsible.

In its ruling the ASA said the subject line was “not explicitly linked” to the content of the email, and ruled the advert was did not breach code.

“It was possible to read the disconnect between the subject line and the content of the email as implying that gambling could create happiness where it was otherwise lacking,” the ASA said in its ruling.

“However, in our view the more natural interpretation of the ad was simply that gambling could be a positive experience.

“We considered that that message was not inherently irresponsible and did not suggest gambling as an escape from personal problems,” the ASA added.