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ASA Bans Irresponsible Prime Scratchcards Online Ads

February 1, 2010 - ASA Bans Irresponsible Prime Scratchcards Online Ads

Two online advertisements for Prime Scratchcards have been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority as they were found to be irresponsible for showing a testimonial by a young mother who is living on family benefits who implied that gambling offered a solution to her financial problems. The ads were being viewed by over a billion people on Yahoo as well as other popular youth-orientated sites such as Facebook and MSN.

The first online ad that included a photograph of a woman holding a baby was headed “Are you feeling lucky” and stated “I am a single mom and I live on family benefits. I played and won GBP 46,799 and it is incredible for me. I was very stressed for my son’s future and could not sleep but now that I won I know that I can help my son build a better future”.

The second advertisement also showed a photograph of a very happy woman holding a cheque, stating “Sandrine R. London won GBP 21,544. “ I was waiting for my husband to come home from work and decided to play a few games online at Prime Scratchcards. I was in total shock when I saw that I had won so much. It really couldn’t have come along at a better time as I’ve just been made redundant. I am now going to take a well deserved holiday with my husband and pay off some debts with what is left.”

Ten complaints were made to the ASA stating that the first ad suggested that gambling offered a solution to financial worries and one complainant complained about the second ad stating that it was irresponsible because it gave the impression that gambling offered a solution to financial concerns associated with redundancy and debt.

In its defense, the operator of Prime Scratch Cards, PrimeGaming, admitted that the ads could mislead and gave instructions for the ads to be removed from all the sites.

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