The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are looking to ban a TV ad for a Monopoly themed online casino game for fear of targeting children. The famous mascot ‘Uncle Pennybags’ appears on the Mirrors Online website, and the ASA have concerns it may appeal to children.
Under 18 Problem Gamblers
The latest ban comes after concerns have been raised by various bodies, stating gambling firms are targeting the under 18’s through football shirt advertising, Social media, online games apps and TV advertising.The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) have seen a rise in problem gamblers aged between 11 and 16 to 55,000 over the last two years.The Guardian understands the ASA have informed Entertainment Play, the company responsible for the game, not to show the ad again.In their defence, Entertainment Play who operate under the Gamesys umbrella, and also manage gambling products like the Virgin brand owned by Richard Branson, have reacted saying they don’t believe the Monopoly mascot would be likely to appeal to children.
Not attractive To Children
They company went on to say the character of Mr Monopoly had no childlike features and is dressed in adult clothing. The character does not appear in any current children’s programs. The colours are not garish or attractive to children, and has taken steps to ensure the ad did not target the under 18s.The ASA went on to say, “ We consider Monopoly was a family game generally played by or with children, and that under-18’s would therefore recognise and find the ad’s references to it appealing.”“ In addition, the ad featured a prominent image of Mr Monopoly character which had exaggerated features reminiscent of a children’s cartoon, which meant the image would also be appealing to the under 18’s.“Taking account of the ad as a whole, we consider that the use of the Monopoly logo and the depiction of the Mr Monopoly character meant that the ad was likely to appeal more to under 18’s than over 18’s. What do you guys think?