888 hit with ASA censure over "misleading" online slots ad
Advertorial receives complaint from user over three separate claims made as part of third-party editorial content
888 has been ordered to remove advertorial marketing material by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over “misleading” claims made by the operator.
The ad for 888’s slots brand, 777.com, was published on the betterdeals.live website on 14 June 2021, and included language “Using the free spins from the popular 777 Slots app, 32-year-old Simona Moron wins the progressive jackpot”.
Another sentence claimed: “Casinos are trying to shut down a free Android App that’s allowing everyday people, like Simona Moron, to win huge progressive jackpots using nothing but free spins.”
At the bottom of the page, text stated: “77 Free Spins (*T&C’s apply) ENABLED FOR ANOTHER” and a countdown timer from three minutes.
A complaint was received, prompting the ASA to investigate claims made in the advertorial in three areas as to whether the content was misleading or could be separately substantiated.
After being contacted by the ASA, 888 said they had policies in place with third-party marketing publishers prohibiting them from using agencies to create advertising which had not been first provided by 888.
In this instance, the firm said the publisher had used content which had not been designed or approved by 888 and without the operator’s knowledge.
Further, 777 claimed it had identified the ad on 2 July, later instructing the publisher to remove the ad and suspending all campaigns with the firm until further notice.
Any subsequent resumption of marketing with the publisher, 777 suggested, would only occur after review and monitoring.
In its review of the ad, the ASA asserted that the claims made by 888 were in fact misleading and could not be substantiated, with the ASA also citing a lack of supporting evidence being provided by 777 to prove any claims.
The regulator also ordered 888 to ensure the advertorial does not appeal again on any of its sites, and to ensure that it held “adequate evidence” to substantiate any claims made in 777 ads, even those placed by affiliate marketing firms.
“We also reminded them that they must ensure that future advertising for 777 did not misleadingly imply that offers were time-limited, for example by using a countdown clock, if that was not the case,” the ASA added.