UK advertising watchdog rejects complaint against YouTuber involving 888

Two complaints lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) against gaming operator 888 UK Ltd. have been dismissed. Both were related to two videos posted on the YouTube channel of influencer Callum Airey.

Airey, better known as Calfreezy on YouTube, promoted the 888poker application in these videos. They were recorded in August 2021.

Two people complained that Airey was popular with young people. They said that the ads were targeted at those under 18 years old and appealed to children.

888 pointed out that the videos were ads for Airey and that they had editorial control. This explained that while one ad wasn't initially labeled as an advertisement, it has been updated and is now accurately described.

Airey also stated that at least 75% were over 18 and the ads weren't targeted at them. This statement was supported by the YouTuber who provided three screenshots of his YouTube analytics showing audience numbers broken down according to age.

The first ad showed that 7.5% of the audience were aged 18 and the second ad showed that 6% of the audience was under 18. These numbers did not exceed the 25% ASA threshold.

888 also stated that Airey was more than 25 years old. Responsible Gambling logos and 18+ logos were featured on both videos. Both ads included an 18+ verbal disclaimer.

The ASA determined that the ads were not in breach of CAP Code rules 16.1 or 16.3.12, and no further action was required.

888 wasn't as lucky a month ago. The ASA upheld a complaint against the gambling group's 777.com affiliate.

The ad in question featured a countdown clock that displayed three minutes. Text underneath said, "77 Free Spins (*T&Cs apply) ENABLED for ANOTHER." The complainant felt this was misleading because the free spins did not end when the timer hit zero.

The ad also featured two additional claims. One stated that "Casinos want to shut down an Android App." Another related to a person in the commercial. Text reading "that's allowing everyday folks, like Simona Moron to win huge progressive Jackpots using nothing but spins" was included.

777 claimed that the ad was published without approval by the online casino by an affiliate marketer in response to the ASA investigation. This claim was accepted by the authority.

The ASA stated that they were the beneficiaries of the marketing materials and that consumers would understand that the countdown timer refers to a specific time laminate. This implied that the promotion would not be available after the countdown reached zero, even though it would reset if the page were refreshed.

The ASA also concluded that the statement "Casinos want to stop a free Android app" could be taken by consumers to indicate that casinos were actively trying to stop the app's operation.

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