Lotto Encourages Excessive Gambling
Last Updated: Thursday 7th July 2011, 16:11
The ASA have ruled that an email advert by Camelot encourages excessive gambling and the ad has been banned. The ASA upheld the single complaint that the email lotto advert breached guidelines of social responsibility by trying to get its customers to increase the amounts they gamble on the lottery in the online promotion from the UK Lotto.
The advert was sent to players who already have an online account to play the lotto draws and included the tagline ‘The more you play, the more likely you are to win” adding the words “Give yourself even more chance by playing multiple lines at once and playing for the Saturday and Wednesday draws”
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld the complaint that the email lotto as encouraged excessive gambling although it rejected a claim that it implied gambling was indispensable.
Camelot, who run the UK Lotto justified the ad campaign by saying they were simply trying to get their customers to play the lotto games and buy lottery tickets online with a light hearted email. They state that the ad was designed to stress the advantages of playing the lotto online and mentioned features such as advance play and win notifications. They say they did not encourage excessive gambling but provided information to help players who wanted to play lottery games interactively.
This decision can only be good for Camelot, due to the advertising this coverage will bring to the online game. If you haven’t tried the lotto online yet then you can play easily online through our pages, you can pre-buy tickets for weeks in advance and play for both Wednesdays and Saturdays draw, we aren’t of course suggesting this may increase your chances but the option is there for you if you want it.