The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently ruled on two complaints related to gambling advertisements, demonstrating its focus on both "image content + audience targeting" in its review logic. Play'n GO was found in violation for advertising images that allegedly appealed to minors, while Mecca Bingo's social media content was deemed compliant.
In April 2025, Play'n GO placed three banner ads through the Adroll platform, featuring cartoon-style Easter Bunny superheroes, anime-style princesses, and robot DJ characters. Despite the ads having an "18+" label and responsible gambling prompts, the ASA ruled that they violated CAP Gambling Advertising Codes 16.1 and 16.3.12, which prohibit advertising that may appeal to those under 18, due to their placement near children's mailbox content and their highly anthropomorphic and cute imagery.
The ASA further noted that the ad placements relied on self-declared age and behavioral data, with insufficient measures to filter out minors, thus not exempting them from regulatory responsibility.
By contrast, Mecca Bingo's emoji movie quiz post on its Facebook page, which was complained about for using cartoon emojis that might appeal to children, was dismissed by the ASA. The reason being that the post was primarily targeted at users over 25 years old, and the use of emojis as an adult movie quiz tool did not reflect youth culture or constitute a clear inducement.
The ASA has requested that Play'n GO avoid using similar imagery unless it can prove that the advertisements are solely targeted at adults. Mecca Bingo does not need to make further adjustments to its content.
This case highlights how the ASA balances the visual appeal of images themselves with the comprehensive impact of the advertising setting, target audience, and the context of the copy when reviewing advertisements.
