Ladbrokes to challenge ASA's ruling on Iron Man ad ban
Operator intends to trigger Independent Review process for watchdog's "wrong" conclusion
Ladbrokes will trigger an Independent Review process after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled an email promotion run by the bookmaker breached its code for targeting children.
One complaint challenged whether the ad, which featured an image of Iron Man, was irresponsible as the use of the character would appeal to children.
Ladbrokes challenged the claim stating the email was sent out to registered users or consumers it knew were over 18, adding it had evidence which showed followers of Marvel comics and Comic Con events were predominantly adults.
Despite acknowledging the email was sent out to over 18s only, the ASA ruled the content should not have a particular appeal to children or young persons and therefore breached its code.
However, a Ladbrokes spokesperson confirmed to eGaming Review the operator intends to trigger an Independent Review Process shortly, pointing to a case involving Rank Group running an X Factor quiz with prizes on offer, which was not upheld by the ASA.
“We are aware of the ASA’s ruling published today and are extremely disappointed with the decision reached by the ASA,” the spokesperson said.
“On this occasion we believe that the ASA has come to the wrong conclusion, particularly in light of a previous decision addressing a similar issue.
“As a result of this we intend to trigger the Independent Review Process shortly.”
In other ASA news today, a Matchbook email with a subject line stating “Risk-free bet on England v Wales” that was sent out during Euro 2016 has been ruled as “misleading” by the ASA.
Matchbook said the email was an initial introduction to the offer and if the recipient selected the “Bet Now” option they were taken to another page, explaining the odds required were 1.9 or less, which the complainant exceeded when placing its bet.
The ASA added that such a restriction on the odds was a significant condition to the offer that consumers needed to be aware of before they clicked on the “Bet Now” option.
Elsewhere, BetStars has also admitted an error meant customers were misled for a money back promotion it ran.
Text on the operator’s website stated: “Money back up to £/$/10 if your first spin and bet loses. Bet now …”.
However, the ad banner did not include text which explained that the âmoney back’ would be in the form of a free bet, which BetStars put down to the size constraints of the banner used.