The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against gambling affiliate Smart Gravity after a casino advertisement appeared to a user searching online for help with gambling-related problems.
The case involved top10onlinecasinoreviews.co.uk, an affiliate comparison website operated by Smart Gravity. According to the ASA, a paid search advert was displayed on 18 June after a user entered the phrase “help with gambling”. The promotion directed users towards online casino websites and highlighted fast registrations and large bonus offers.
Smart Gravity told the regulator that it operates as an affiliate comparison business rather than a gambling operator. Its website provides reviews, comparisons and information about companies licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.
The company said the advertisement had been delivered through Microsoft Advertising and that it had not deliberately targeted people seeking support for gambling-related harm. Smart Gravity said its intended audience was adult consumers looking for information about licensed gambling operators.
Following the complaint, Smart Gravity reviewed its campaign settings, search terms, keyword targeting and compliance procedures. The company also pointed to an existing negative-keyword system designed to stop its promotions appearing alongside searches connected with gambling addiction, safer gambling and gambling harm.
However, the ASA found those safeguards were not strong enough. Smart Gravity used a combination of exact, phrase and broad keyword matching, meaning advertisements could potentially appear for searches related to targeted keywords even when the advertiser had not specifically selected the user’s exact wording.
The regulator concluded that someone searching for “help with gambling” was likely to be seeking advice or assistance relating to gambling harm. Such users could include vulnerable consumers trying to reduce their interaction with gambling advertising or gambling websites.
Against that background, the ASA determined that serving an advertisement promoting online casinos and bonus incentives created an unacceptable risk. It said marketers promoting gambling-related services must maintain particularly robust targeting controls because of the potential harm to vulnerable consumers.
The watchdog upheld the case under Rule 1.3 of the CAP Code, which requires marketing communications to be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and society.
Smart Gravity has been instructed to ensure that the advertisement does not appear again following searches for “help with gambling” and to strengthen the responsible targeting of its paid search campaigns.
The ruling adds to a series of recent ASA interventions involving gambling advertising. In August, the regulator upheld complaints against Midnite over a television, video-on-demand and radio campaign after deciding the adverts portrayed potentially harmful gambling behaviour. The ASA has also recently acted against other gambling promotions involving issues such as social responsibility and the protection of younger audiences.