888 Cassava fall foul of Advertising Standards Authority

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It has been reported that 888 Cassava have had an advert pulled after a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad is internal only, in that it is actually on one of the giant company’s own sites – yes, this is the company behind the Dragonfish network.

The ASA made their judgement on July 10, after receiving just one complaint about an advert for a Spiderman slot machine at 888.com.

The substance of the complaint is that the ad, which featured a comic-book style picture of Peter Parker’s alter-ego and the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ headline was challenged by the complainer on the grounds that it might appeal to children. There are strict rules around gambling ads, which must be ‘socially responsible’ and like booze adverts must not be seen to appeal to those under the 18-years-old limit for playing games.

Cassava defended themselves, saying that Spiderman has a particular appeal to those over 18. He features in films which have large adult audiences and as he first appeared in the 1960s, his original audience are now very much old enough to enjoy some legal gambling.

They also pointed to their age-limits, so no-one under 18 could play for cash even if they wanted to.
However, the ASA found against them, on the grounds that ‘marketing communications for gambling products should not be likely to be of particular appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture’.

Cassava have been told to remove the ad and not use images that might appeal to kids in future.
This is the fifth ruling against Cassava/888, who run a huge network of sites.

It’s hardly likely that the company will be hugely put out by having to shift their design a little. However, if there were to be a large number of complaints against cartoon-like imagery on bingo sites – it’s a dominant theme and becoming more fashionable rather than less – then the ruling could have wider implications.