Esports betting start-up Midnite warned by ASA over ad failures
Advertising watchdog reminds operator not to “portray, condone or encourage” socially irresponsible gambling behaviours
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has ordered esports bookmaker Midnite to remove marketing materials that could have encouraged problem gambling behaviours.
The ASA received a complaint relating to a paid-for Facebook ad as seen on 18 September 2021 for Midnite, which was later deemed to be irresponsible on two fronts.
The ad included text reading: “Top tier eSports for UK games … Crazy odds Huge Wins Blitz payouts.” Below this, the ad included an image of a tweet which read: “I’m so hooked on CS:GO [Counter-Strike: Global Offensive] bets rn [right now] I’ve been making the craaaaaziest [sic] calls.”
Regulations state that marketing communications must not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm, according to the ASA.
The advertising watchdog noted the reference to being “hooked on CS:GO bets” portrayed gambling addiction in a positive light and ultimately encouraged problem gambling behaviours.
The ASA also stated the claim “making the craaaaaziest [sic] calls” presented reckless betting patterns in a positive light.
The ASA said: “Taken together, we considered that the overall impression of the ad was to condone and encourage betting in ways that could be financially, socially or emotionally harmful.
“Because we considered that the ad condoned and encouraged betting in ways that could be financially, socially or emotionally harmful, by associating it with problem gambling, we concluded that the ad was irresponsible,” the ASA added.
Dribble Media, the company behind UK-licensed Midnite, said the ad was created by a third party who had failed to comply with the company’s policies for social media advertising.
Dribble Media said the ad had been removed and that it would no longer work with the third party in question.
The ASA concluded: “We told Dribble Media Ltd not to portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm.”
Midnite, which raised $2.5m in funding in January 2020, was formed with the backing of founders and executives from Betfair and GVC Holdings (now Entain).