• Two advertisements by Ladbrokes in the UK faced scrutiny from the Advertising and Standards Authority
• The ads in question promoted Ladbucks, free tokens that were awarded to players of the operator, giving them different perks and benefits
• The Advertising and Standards Authority concluded that the advertisements in question breached the established rules and said they must not appear again in their current form

Two advertisements promoting a rewards program by Ladbrokes, the leading betting and gaming operator, have undergone scrutiny by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK's regulator for advertising.

The ads in question appeared in December last year on TV and Video on Demand (VOD), promoting Ladbucks, unique tokens part of the operator's reward campaign that grant gamblers free spins, bets and more benefits.

Reviewing the ads in question, the ASA upheld its ruling, acknowledging that the promotional content breached the BCAP Code and CAP Code.

Ladbrokes responds to the ASA's assessment of two advertisements promoting Ladbucks

The Authority's assessment follows two complaints which challenged whether the promotional campaign for Ladbucks may be of strong appeal to individuals under 18 years of age.

The complainants claimed that the rewards program's tokens may be of strong appeal to individuals under 18, which would be in violation of the BCAP Code and the CAP Code.

Similar to other cases, the ASA contacted LC International Ltd, trading as Ladbrokes, regarding the advertisements in question.

In response, the operator highlighted that the aforementioned Ladbucks tokens were awarded for free to customers, aged 18 or over and ones who have logged into their profile and have verified their account.

Notably, Ladbrokes explained that the rewards tokens could not be purchased but were rather awarded for free, were only redeemable via the "Ladbucks arcade" and the "Ladbucks Store," and had a pre-set expiry if left unused.

Explaining the name of the rewards program tokens, the operator said that it was "as a play on the word Ladbrokes, and because it referenced, through the use of the term bucks, that it had value on the Ladbrokes website."

Ladbrokes outlined that the word "bucks" as a synonym of dollars "had no origins in youth culture," adding that "it was not of inherent strong appeal to under-18s."

The licensed gambling operator highlighted the notable differences between popular in-game currencies used by games such as Fortnite and Roblox, confirming that the "only similarity between those coins and Ladbucks coins was the term bucks."

ASA finds the ads are likely to strongly appeal to under-18s, thus in violation of the established rules

Despite Ladbrokes' explanation, the ASA upheld its ruling.

The Authority pointed to popular children's games that use in-game currencies, such as the V-bucks and Robux used in Fortnite and Roblox.

In its assessment, the ASA focused on the similarities between the names of the in-game currencies and rewards program tokens, as well as the "overall depiction of the tokens."

In light of those similarities, and the way such digital currencies are usually used, the Authority confirmed that the ads promoting Ladbucks were "depicted in a manner which was similar to features in video games popular with children."

The ASA further explained: "We therefore considered the term in the ads was likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s and breached the Code."

Consequently, the Authority explained that Ladbrokes' advertisements must not appear again in their current form as they breach BCAP Code 17.4.5 and CAP Code 16.1 and 16.3.12.

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