Tombola’s I’m a Celebrity ad falls foul of ASA
Regulator rules operator had not taken “reasonable steps” to ensure ads were not viewed by under 18s
An advertisement for tombola arcade appearing on the I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Hereapp has been ruled as inappropriately targeting under 18s by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The ad, which first appeared in November 2018, enabled users to watch video clips featuring slogans encouraging individual to play the company’s slot and scratchcard games.
A separate advert appearing in the vote section of the app used the wording “A chance to win a share of £250,000 for free click here”.
In all cases, the ads included the text “tombola arcade proudly sponsors I’m a Celebrity”, “begambleaware.org Terms apply. 18+” and featured the logos of the Google Play and Apple App Store. Any users clicking on the advert were immediately directed to the tombola arcade website.
Tombola confirmed the firm and ITV had reviewed the content prior to airing and felt the advertisement would be appropriate for the audience.
The operator also confirmed its arcade website included age warnings and that there were stringent checks in place to prevent individuals under the age of 18 from registering for the site.
However, in its ruling, the ASA deemed tombola arcade had not demonstrated they had taken “reasonable steps” to minimise the ads exposure to under 18s.
The ASA added: “We understood that all ads were displayed to all users of the app; there were no mechanisms built into the app to target ads towards, or direct them away from, certain groups of users.”
Upholding the complaint, the ASA confirmed the advertisement should not be screened again without specific targeting to ensure no exposure to under 18s.