ASA bans three paid-for Lottoland adverts following investigation
Three complaints upheld against the Gibraltar-based firm over Bing and Google adverts as regulator tells operator to avoid misleading campaigns in the future
Lottoland has been ordered to pull three paid-for adverts that appeared on Bing and Google search engines following an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The complaint against the operator was based on whether the adverts were misleading the public as to the nature of what products Lottoland offered.
There were two adverts on Google and one on Bing, which caused concern. The Bing advert stated “Lottoland Irish Lottery – Only £2 Here” and “£209m US Powerball Lotto. £56m Megamillions 6for1. Contact us. Play Here”.
The first ad on Google read: “Lottoland Irish Lottery – only £2 Here” and “Charity Combo for £2. Win-win charity Lotto + BRC Scratch 50% off. Support UK Charities Here.”
The second advert stated, “Lottoland Lotto x5 – Just £1 – 5 chances to win £1 million” and “CAN Your Lotto Do That? Lottoland Can.”
The ASA upheld the complaint as it felt that in the context of the advert, the use of the term “Lotto” as well as the references to the Irish Lottery and US Powerball Lotto, could lead to customers interpreting the term “Lotto” to mean a lottery and that Lottoland provided the opportunity to buy a ticket for and participate in an official lottery draw.
The regulator also stated that consumers were likely to associate lotteries with contributing to charitable causes, and it considered the use of the phrase “Support UK Charities Here” was likely to reinforce the initial impression.
The ASA concluded that the ads were likely to be misleading and breached CAP Code rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising).
These two rules state that adverts must not mislead customers by leaving out vital information or presenting information that is unclear or ambiguous in nature.
Following the conclusion of the ASA investigation, the operator was informed that the ads could not appear in their current form.
Lottoland had argued the ads had been produced due to shortcomings in the Bing and Google algorithms which had inadvertently led to the ads being placed on the search engines’ result pages.
In response, a spokesperson for Lottoland said: “Lottoland accepts the ASA’s findings and has already put in place strong measures to ensure that this cannot happen again.”
Elsewhere, Lottoland is set to contest ISP blocking orders by the German regulator, Glücksspielbehörde. The operator said it will defend itself against the blocking orders via all legal means, including state liability suits, should damages arise from the orders.
The firm believes that blocking orders are not permitted under German gambling law as the operator has applied for licenses which are still being processed.