Kwiff in ASA crosshairs over Portsmouth FC free spin ad
Operator told to remove offending ad located on news article relating to children’s membership for football club
The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) has established that Kwiff broke the CAP regulations around gambling advertising after the operator displayed an ad on a children-specific section of Portsmouth FC’s website.
The offending ad appeared within a news article on the football club’s website about membership packages for young fans of the League One side.
The ad, which was shown on 15 December 2022, read: “Grab up to 200 Cash Free Spins on Book of Dead! Wager £20 on slots and Get 40 Cash Free Spins for five consecutive days. Sign Up Kwiff.”
Kwiff argued that the ad was displayed on the news section of Portsmouth’s site, and not specifically on pages intended for children or young people.
The firm said the ad was not publicly available, and that it was targeted based on the viewer’s online behaviour and data. This data included age, location and interests and excluded under 18s. Kwiff said its process adhered to the ASA’s guidelines.
However, Kwiff did note that even with the application of this technology, there was a small chance the ad could have been seen by minors. Nevertheless, Kwiff data showed 33 people had interacted with the ad and they all passed the age-verification process, having been targeted effectively.
Continuing its defence, Kwiff said the article, which included offers for club memberships for those aged up to four-years-old and between five and 12-years-old, was not specifically targeted at children.
Instead, the operator maintained, the article was intended for parents or adults to purchase club memberships on behalf of children.
In response to these claims, the ASA counterargued that the article also included club membership packages for children aged 13 to 17, and therefore was not specifically for parents or adults.
The ASA also pointed to a tagline at the bottom of the article which read: “Click here to join the Junior Blues today – and do not worry if you are aged 18 or over, as we also have adult membership packages available.”
The ASA said this tagline indicated that the article was making a distinction between adults and young people and that it was directed at the latter.
The regulator added that despite Kwiff’s processes around age-gating, the operator needed to take into consideration the appropriateness of posting the ad on the Portsmouth website which is readily accessible to children.
In a statement, the ASA said: “Because the ad appeared in the context of a web page that was directed at those younger than 18 years, it did not comply with the rules on gambling advertising.
“The ad must not be served to the article again. Future ads should not be directed at those aged below 18 years through the selection of media or context in which they appear.”