Hollywoodbets ad banned for targeting under 18s

Hollywoodbets has been ordered to remove an ad by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) which was deemed to have been directed at those under the age of 18.

A complaint was made to the ASA regarding the operator’s ad which was placed on esports statistics website The-VFL.com, short for Virtual Football League, a competition linked to console game EAFC.

The offence

The ad contained the Hollywoodbets logo, with text stating “UP TO £30 BACK AS FREE BETS + 20 FREE SPINS”, and featured a “SIGN HERE” button. Viewers of the ad could also see an image of people dressed in sports clothing, including a footballer, a tennis player, a golfer, an American football player and a jockey riding a horse.

The complainant was aged 16 and was logged into their account when they saw the ad. They had registered their date of birth with The-VFL.com.

The defence

The ad was placed on The-VFL.com by Hollywoodbets’ affiliate partner Clever Advertising. Clever Advertising said players use the website to play organised competitive matches, modelled after real football leagues. This makes the website closely aligned with a traditional sports platform where viewers would expect to see gambling ads.

Another defence put forward was that VFL’s gameplay format required team coordination, scheduling and commitment. Hollywoodbets and Clever Advertising argued this is more typical of older and more mature players.

CAP Code breached

The ASA upheld the complaint however, on the grounds that the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) dictates marketing communications must not be directed at those under the age of 18.

The ASA said: “Because the ad was served to a user of the website who was known to be under 18 by their registered login details, we considered that the ad was directed at those below the age of 18 through the selection of the media in which it appeared and therefore breached the Code.”

Hollywoodbets cannot use the ad again without further, specific targeting to minimise the likelihood of under-18s being exposed to it. 

 A 16-year-old complainant saw a Hollywoodbets ad while logged into esport statistic website The-VFL.com