888 Casino adverts banned by ASA

Gambling operator, 888 Casino broke ASA rules with two adverts.

Online gaming operator, 888 has had two adverts banned by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after they ruled that the operator had misled customers over a ‘free play’ offer.

The adverts related to the operator’s 888Casino.com brand, comprised of a poster on a London underground platform as well as an advertisement on the 888.com website which promoted the casino aspect of the brand.

The London underground poster said: “£88 Free No Deposit needed Slots. Blackjack. Roulette. Live casino”, while text at the bottom added: “18+ T’s & C’s apply.”

Further down the page, however, it said: “888 Free Play with your favourite casino. Fancy playing amazing casino games for free? Register at 888casino and you get £88 FreePlay*, no deposit needed!” This asterix then linked to more text at the bottom of the page, which stated: “*Valid for selected countries only… New players only… With the exception of a Jackpot win, max FreePlay winnings = £20. FreePlay winnings must be wagered 30 times before withdrawal.”

It was argued the poster was misleading since people signed up for the offer, before discovering that “free play” winnings needed to be wagered thirty times before withdrawal and that players were only able to withdraw up to £20.

The website advert stated: “Get £88 FREE + Up to £100 bonus on your first deposit… 1. Register 2. Get £88 Free 3. Deposit and Get up to £100 bonus.”

Another complainant challenged whether the website advert was misleading for the same reasons as the underground poster.

The ASA ruled that the poster advert did not make clear the restrictions applied to the offer, while the website advertisement did not give sufficient prominence to significant information relating to the offer. Because of this, ASA ruled that both adverts breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 and 3.10 (Qualification), 3.23 (Free), 8.17 and 8.17.1 (Significant conditions for promotions).

While ASA praised 888Casino’s willingness to amend the adverts, they nevertheless stated that neither advert should appear in their current form ever again.