The Company will make sure that its products, advertising, or marketing campaigns comply with all applicable laws associated to the advertising and marketing of gambling products. Such advertising and marketing campaigns will be rolled out in a socially responsible manner.
Advertising Standard
The Standard sets out five key advertising principles which must be adhered to by the Company in relation to the management of all advertising.
If the Company also engages contractors, agents, consultants, partners, or other parties to manage marketing campaigns on its behalf, such contractors, agents, consultants, partners and other parties must, pursuant to the agreement entered into by both parties, comply with the five principles in their management of marketing campaigns on behalf of the Company.
The five key principles of the Standard are as follows:
- Social responsibility and harm.
- Children and young persons.
- Irresponsible appeal.
3.1 Seduction, sexual success, and enhanced attractiveness.
3.2 Toughness, resilience, and recklessness.
3.3 Enhancing personal qualities.
3.4 Cultural beliefs or traditions about gambling or luck. - Problem gambling behavior.
4.1 Taking priority and solving problems.
4.2 Solitary gambling. - Misleadingness: ‘free bets’.
Gambling Advertising Principles Detailed
Principle 1
‘Social responsibility and harm’
The Standard requires all gambling advertising to be socially responsible and the Company should ensure it respects the need to protect children, young persons, and other Vulnerable Persons from being harmed or exploited by advertising that features or promotes gambling. Although ‘vulnerable’ person is not defined we will look at factors such as mental, social, or emotional immaturity, impaired judgement, for example, because of alcohol or drug addiction, or those who are at risk of gambling more than they can afford to or want to. Nothing in all non-broadcast advertising or broadcast advertising (‘Ads’) should condone or encourage criminal or anti-social behavior.
This means the Company must:
- Be socially responsible, with regard to the need to protect Children, Young Persons, and other Vulnerable Persons.
The Company must not: - Portray, condone, or encourage gambling behavior that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social, or emotional harm.
- Condone or encourage criminal or anti-social behavior.
Guidance
A breach of the more specific principles, set out below, will often involve a breach of the social responsibility rules. Ads that have been investigated under the social responsibility rules have included:
- Portraying gambling as a possible solution to financial concerns and debt
- Linking gambling and alcohol consumption
- Showing problem-gambling behaviours, such as solitary gambling or gambling taking priority in life.
The Company’s Policy sets out the rules and guidance for advertising and marketing. It is important that all employees, contractors, agents, consultants, partners, or other parties working on behalf of the Company are aware of and understand the Company’s Policy.
Advertising or media campaigns must not be initiated without prior written approval from the Board in each separate case.
Principle 2
‘Children and young persons’
The Standard requires marketing communications for gambling products to be socially responsible, regarding the need to protect children, young persons, and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited.
This means the Company must:
- Be socially responsible, regarding the need to protect children, young persons, and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited.
The Company must not:
- Exploit the susceptibilities, aspirations, credulity, inexperience, or lack of knowledge of Children, Young Persons, or other Vulnerable Persons.
- Suggest peer pressure to gamble or disparage abstention.
- Suggest gambling is a rite of passage.
- Create marketing or advertising that is likely to be of appeal to children or young persons, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture.
- Create marketing or advertising directed at those aged below 21 years through the selection of media or context in which they appear.
- Include a child or a young person in marketing or advertising. No-one who is or seems to be under-25 years old may be featured in gambling advertisement. No-one may behave in an adolescent, juvenile or loutish way.
Guidance
No advertising should be based around individuals who are or seem to be under 25 years old (18-24 years old).
An advertisement featuring a character that particularly appeals to children is likely to fall foul of the rules. The use of cartoons or licensed characters, such as super-heroes and celebrities popular with children, must be used with a due sense of responsibility. In other words, care should be taken when using cartoon-like images that:
- Might be acceptable if they are adult in nature but run the risk of appealing to under-21s if cartoon images are too childish in their execution.
- Might be a problem when advertising gambling products.
In all cases, steps should be taken to prevent under-21s from viewing ads (for example age-gating online ads) and the likely age of the audience viewing the ad should always be considered.
Principle 3
‘Irresponsible appeal’
The Company recognizes that irresponsible advertising and marketing related to gambling may appeal to Children (persons aged 15 years or younger), Young Persons (persons aged 16 or 21 years of age) or Vulnerable Persons, which means:
a) People at risk of gambling more than they can afford to or want to.
b) People who are considered “at risk” based on factors such as: –
i. Mental, social, or emotional immaturity, or
ii. Impaired judgement.
Irresponsible advertising may create a certain level of attractiveness to gambling. The Company must ensure that all advertising and marketing is created responsibly and as such the below rules and standards must be applied when considering any marketing or advertising campaigns.
3.1 Seduction, Sexual Success, and Enhanced Attractiveness
There must not be any direct or implied link between gambling, seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness through any marketing or advertising.
The Standard states that marketing and advertisement communications must not:
- Link gambling to seduction, sexual success, or enhanced attractiveness.
Guidance
It is acceptable to feature attractive people in advertising, if the ad does not link gambling with seduction, sexual success, or enhanced attractiveness. Where characters in ads are treated with admiration by others because of their gambling, this can breach the Standard by linking gambling and enhanced attractiveness.
Ads linking transformations of characters’ appearance after gambling can create an implication that gambling could result in enhanced attractiveness and an improvement in self-image, thereby breaching the rules.
3.2 Toughness, Resilience and Recklessness
The Standard states that marketing and advertisement communications must not:
- Portray gambling in a context of toughness or link it to resilience or recklessness.
Guidance
No advert or marketing campaign should be created without considering if the context might create a link between gambling and resilience or toughness or portraying gambling in a context of toughness.
3.3 Enhancing Personal Qualities
The Standard states that marketing and advertising communications must not:
- Suggest that gambling can enhance personal qualities, for example, that it can improve self-image or self-esteem, or is a way to gain control, superiority, recognition, or admiration.
Guidance
Again, it is acceptable to feature attractive or admired people in advertising if the ad does not link gambling with these qualities. Where characters in ads are treated with admiration by others because of their gambling, this can breach the Standard by linking gambling and improved self-image or self-esteem.
Ads linking transformations of characters’ appearance after gambling can create an implication that gambling could result in an improvement in self-image, thereby breaching the rules.
3.4 Cultural Beliefs or Traditions About Gambling or Luck
The Standard states that marketing and advertising communications must not:
- Exploit cultural beliefs or traditions about gambling or luck.
Guidance
Advertisements should avoid the use of cultural symbols and systems such as horoscopes if those symbols relate to an existing, strongly, and communally held belief. These rules are not intended to prevent references to symbols or obsolete superstitions that are unlikely to be taken seriously, such as a clover leaf.
Principle 4
‘Problem gambling behaviour’
4.1 Taking Priority and Solving Problems
The Standard states that marketing and advertising communications must not:
• Suggest that gambling can provide an escape from personal, professional, or educational problems such as loneliness or depression.
• Suggest that gambling can be a solution to financial concerns, an alternative to employment or a way to achieve financial security.
• Portray gambling as indispensable or as taking priority in life. For example, over family, friends or professional or educational commitments.
• Condone or feature gambling in a working environment.
Guidance
No marketing activity suggesting that gambling is a solution to financial concerns should be implemented by the Company. The Company views this as socially irresponsible and a breach of this Standard.
Even where risks are clearly set out, care and consideration should always be given to ensure gambling is not portrayed as a viable alternative to employment, or solution to financial concerns in any given context. References to salary or debts in gambling should also be given specific consideration when planning any marketing or advertising campaign.
It is generally acceptable to show gambling as being important and interesting to characters, if it is not to the exclusion of other activities or interactions with people.
4.2 Solitary Gambling
The Standard states marketing and advertising communications must not:
- Suggest that solitary gambling is preferable to social gambling.
Guidance
Any advertisement that features an adult losing track of time, shunning the company of others, retreating into private fantasy, or engaging in secretive gambling is likely to breach the general principle of the Standard that advertisements should not portray, condone, or encourage gambling behavior that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social, or emotional harm.
Solitary gambling should not be shown favorably contrasting with social gambling.
Principle 5
‘Misleadingness: ‘free bets’
All marketing communications and advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. They must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous, or untimely manner. Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
The Company must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify and should be presented clearly.
The terms “free”, “without charge” or similar should not be used unless the customer will not pay anything except the unavoidable cost of responding, collecting, or paying for delivery of an item.
All marketing communications and advertising must make clear the extent of the commitment the consumer must make to take advantage of a “free” offer.
The Company must include as much information about significant conditions as practicable when a campaign is limited by time of space. It must direct consumers clearly to an easily accessible alternative source where all the significant conditions of the promotion are prominently stated. Participants should be able to retain those conditions or easily access them throughout the promotion.
Marketing and advertising communications must not:
- Marketing communications or advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so; and
- Marketing communications or advertisements must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous, or untimely manner.
Guidance
Material information is information that the consumer needs in context to make informed decisions in relation to a product and to help them decide whether or how to buy a product or service. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication or advertisement is constrained by time or space, the Company must take all measures possible to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
Marketing communications or advertisements that include a promotion and are significantly limited by time or space must include as much information about significant conditions as practicable and must direct consumers clearly to an easily accessible alternative source where all the significant conditions of the promotion are prominently stated. Participants should be able to retain those conditions or easily access them throughout the promotion.
Examples of significant terms and conditions are:
- Requiring consumers to deposit the same amount of their own money as a free bet to take advantage of the offer.
- Requiring new customers to bet their initial deposit.
- Requiring customers to match a free bet amount on a certain number of occasions before they can withdraw any cash winnings from their account.
- Imposing time limits in which bets must be made before winnings are forfeited; and
- Preventing consumers from being able to withdraw any of their own funds deposited into their account until they have placed bets totalling a certain number of times the value of the free bet.
The terms and conditions of each marketing incentive must be made available for the full duration of the promotion.
The term “risk-free bet” should be avoided unless the offer or free bet is completely free, requires no deposit, has no wagering requirements, and is paid as cash that can be withdrawn by customers.
All free bet, bonus or similar offers should not be created or initiated without prior approval from the Board.