Who: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Stars Interactive Ltd t/a PokerStars (PokerStars)
Where: United Kingdom
When: 26 March 2025
Law stated as at: 15 April 2025
What happened:
On 23 December 2024, a post from the PokerStars account appeared on social media featuring a video of two characters in a casino – Rory and McKola.
Rory, wearing a PokerStars branded jumper, was shown competing with McKola on slot machines in a challenge set by PokerStars Casino, each starting with £100. It showed McKola repeatedly winning while Rory kept asking how he was winning and for tips on how to win.
The video portrayed the wins as quick and easy, with Rory attributing his success to “skill at slots”. One particular shot showed Rory explaining that to win, he just had to heat up his finger – Rory then blew on his finger, pushed the button and won more money.
The ad was challenged for portraying, condoning, or encouraging socially irresponsible gambling behaviour that could lead to financial harm.
PokerStars said that the ad was published in error. It also acknowledged that the ad did not comply with the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP Code), removed the post, and committed to providing mandatory advertising compliance training to their employees to prevent future breaches.
The ASA upheld the complaint and ruled that the ad should not appear again in the form complained of.
Why this matters:
This ruling underscores the necessity for advertisers to uphold ethical standards and protect consumers from misleading and potentially harmful impressions about gambling. It highlights an advertiser’s responsibility to prevent the promotion of gambling as a trivial or guaranteed profitable activity, and not to condone or encourage gambling behaviour, that can lead to financial, social, or emotional harm.
When creating gambling advertisements, it is important to remember that the CAP Code requires gambling advertisements to be socially responsible and not promote potentially harmful gambling behaviour or imply guaranteed success. This advertisement, which depicted frequent and easy wins, trivialised gambling and described it as a financial investment.
Practical Takeaways for Advertisers
- Avoid trivialising gambling: do not depict gambling as a casual or guaranteed way to make money.
- Responsible portrayal: ensure ads do not suggest gambling is a financial investment or imply frequent/easy wins.
- Prevent harm: be mindful of the potential financial, social and emotional impacts on consumers.
- Compliance: consider the CAP code rules to avoid breaches. Keep your marketing teams briefed on the rules and any updates, and ensure that all compliance checks on ads are conducted before the ad is published.
