Lottoland penalised for misleading jackpot ad
Advertising Standards Authority bans lotto-betting operator’s £169m PowerBall jackpot promotion
An offer on Lottoland’s UK-facing website has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for promoting a misleading PowerBall jackpot of £169m to players.
The offer, as seen on www.lottoland.co.uk on 27 July 2017, stated “PowerBall £169 million”, and allowed consumers to tick boxes to enter the jackpot draw on Thursday or Sunday.
One complainant believed the jackpot total was subject to change depending on whether it was paid out in a single lump sum or in instalments and challenged whether the ad was misleading.
It turned out the £169m jackpot would always be reduced by 38% to allow for tax that winners in the official lottery would have to pay, while participants opting for the single lump sum rather than the 30-year annuity payments would then receive 60% of the remaining balance.
Furthermore, the pre-tax value quoted in the ad would be split as if it had been shared in the way the official prize would be shared if there had been more than one jackpot winner.
However, none of these details were clear in the ad and could only be found in the FAQs and terms and conditions sections of Lottoland’s UK website.
The ad breached CAP Code on misleading advertising and the ASA ruled it must not appear again in current form.
The regulator instructed Lottoland to ensure that the value of any prizes quoted included any non-optional deductions and stated clearly and prominently any material information that would affect a consumer’s decision to participate.
Lottoland Nigel Birrell said: “Lottoland accepts the Advertising Standards Agency’s findings and has already added more information to the website to further clarify the deductions on the PowerBall jackpot.
“Lottoland volunteered to make changes to the website as soon as this issue was raised, as we are committed to being fully open and transparent with our customers,” he added.