Online casino Karamba is the latest operator to be reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), over two complaints made regarding the online slot Starburst.
Misleading Consumers
The ASA found two separate cases of misleading consumers into thinking they could ‘win big’ by following strategies within their web pages.Firstly, a page titled ‘ Tips and tricks on how to win at Starburst’, suggested following the tips could maximise your win and influence your luck, consumers are asked to read on for ‘Top Tricks and Tips’.Secondly, under the title ‘Starburst Strategy’, the page specified ‘Top 5 tips for winning’, suggesting following these ‘Tips’ could offer bigger wins on the popular NetEnt slot game. One of the main issues within the tips page it suggested chances of winning are higher by increasing your bet, also playing off peak. This could influence players to spend more in a hope of winning big, which could result in financial loss, social or emotional harm.
Human Error
AG Communications who operate the games on the site responded by stating, ‘this was human error, with our usual internal procedures of approval to ensure compliance with regulations, marketing guideline training were not followed by the personnel responsible for the ad’.ASA responded by adding, suggestion of placing larger bets could increase a players chances of winning, a players luck could change if they had not won on the game, and the strategies could improve their chances of winning, thus encouraging irresponsible gambling. They concluded the ad was irresponsible and was in breach of the code, the ad has now been removed from the site.