ASA Warns Kwiff Over Ad
Supercharged bookmaker Kwiff has been issued a warning by the Advertising Standards Authority over an ad that appeared on the Portsmouth FC website. The advertising watchdog upheld a complaint that the ad was not appropriately targeted, as it appeared alongside a news article about the Junior Blues. The ASA has strict rules in place to prevent operators from advertising in ways that could appeal to under-eighteens.
Kwiff has been told that the ad must not appear in the same context again and that it should be vigilant in targeting future ads. ©Zac Frith/Pexels
Behavioral Targeting Software
The Advertising Standards Authority has ordered Kwiff to remove an online advert for its casino offering. The ASA investigated the ad after concerns were raised that it could appeal to web users below the age of eighteen. The issue was upheld and Kwiff has been ordered not to serve the ad in the context of the article again.
Kwiff has been warned that future ads must not be directed at those below the age of eighteen. The display ad for Kwiff appeared within a news article about the Junior Blues on the Portsmouth FC website on December 15th, 2022. Text accompanying the ad 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”.
The ad did state that the offer extended only to new customers aged eighteen and over. However, this concession was not enough for the ASA, which ruled against the ad. Eaton Gate Gaming, which trades as Kwiff, responded to the ASA’s challenge arguing that it had not directly targeted its marketing at children.
The operator stated that while the ad was visible on the news section of the Portsmouth FC website, it did not appear in any “Join the Junior Blues” membership pages of sections of the website dedicated to children and young people. The ad was not publicly available and was dynamic, its location changing based on the behavior of the viewer.
Kwiff used behavioral targeting, a tool it described as precise and accurate. The tool was designed to limit underage viewing while achieving a maximum return on ad spending. The software aimed to target individuals in set profiles based on age, location and interests. It excluded under-eighteens.
Article Aimed at Parents
The operator continued, arguing that its processes had adhered to ASA guidelines, as it had made use of tools to target audiences and minimize the chances of underage viewers. However, it did concede that even with the use of the best technology there was a small chance that ads could be viewed by minors.
Its tracking data showed that 33 people interacted with the ad and all passed age-verification. Most of the individuals who saw the ad were already Kwiff players, and as such had already had their age verified when they signed up with the betting app.
In addition to this, the Portsmouth FC website was not specifically directed at children. The ad was seen in the news section, also not targeted at under-eighteens. Neither the ad or the article in which the ad appeared were presented in a way that would appeal to children.
The article included the sentence “do not worry if you are aged 18 or over, as we also have adult membership packages available”. According to Kwiff, this was not sufficient to imply that the article was primarily viewed by under-eighteens. A variety of packages were mentioned on the page, with some aimed at children under age of four.
Kwiff said that this showed that the article was intended to be read by parents rather than children. Alongside this, a payment of £27.50 is necessary to become a Portsmouth FC member. This backed up the operator’s view that the target audience was the parents and relatives of children.
Junior Membership Packages
Unfortunately for Kwiff, its reasoning was not enough to sway the ASA’s verdict. In its assessment of the case, the advertising watchdog reiterated that the CAP Code prohibits marketing communications for gambling from being directed at people younger than eighteen through selection of media or the context in which they appear.
The ASA did accept Kwiff’s use of advanced targeting tools. However, its ruling was based not just on how the ad was targeted but whether the media it accompanied was appropriate as a pairing in context. The news article in question was titled “Join the Junior Blues” and explained the range of membership packages available to juniors.
The three junior supporter groups for Portsmouth FC include Pompey Pup for under-fours, Pompey Junior for children aged five to twelve and Pompey teen for thirteen- to seventeen-year-olds. As such, the content of the post was of immediate interest to under-eighteens. That assessment was compounded by the inclusion of an image of the club’s mascot, a cartoon dog.
The ASA accepted Kwiff’s reasoning that references to packages aimed at children too young to access the content were aimed at parents. However, the article could also have been read by older children and teens interested in the packages that applied to them. The headline and design also spoke directly to this age range.
The statement “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” cemented the ASA’s verdict that this page was primarily targeted at readers under the age of eighteen. Consequently, Kwiff’s ad did not comply with the ASA’s strict rules on gambling advertising.
The ASA’s ruling is the third this year relating to gambling marketing. In April, BetVictor was ordered to remove a Facebook ad including footballers that were deemed likely to appeal to under-eighteens. The watchdog also ruled in favor of Paddy Power’s Christmas campaign.
