The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), an independent body set up by the advertising industry to police the rules laid down in the advertising codes, today announced that it had not upheld a complaint made by the Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, Don Foster MP. At issue was a television advertisement and Internet promotion from Foxy Bingo. Don Foster had challenged whether the use of ‘free’ £10 offer was misleading and did not make clear the significant conditions attached to the offer.

The ASA adjudicated that the ads made clear that the £10 offered was for gameplay only and intended to highlight that, unlike similar promotions, Foxy Bingo offered the £10 for gameplay without the requirement for players to deposit their own funds to retrieve their ‘free’ award. The ASA concluded that the use of 'free' was appropriate for all customers in both ads and was unlikely to mislead but said it understood the complainant's concern, because there were terms and conditions attached to the promotion, which were not clarified in either ad.

In another case the ASA challenged a national press advertisement for Wink Bingo which it considered to portray gambling as taking precedence over professional commitments and show gambling in a working environment. Spacebar Media, on behalf of Daub Ltd, said the advertisement was aimed at a largely female audience and did not portray the real world but showed exaggerated cartoon characters in an alternative slightly surreal, escapist world, which was a heightened fantasy situation similar to one that some of their players had experienced.

The ASA noted the CAP Code prohibited ads that condoned or featured gambling in a working environment and those that portrayed gambling as taking priority over professional commitments. It considered that the ad showed a health-care professional ignoring a woman giving birth in order to play bingo on line. The ASA also considered that the text "Find the appropriate moment", together with the image, was likely to be understood to condone, rather than warn against, gambling in the work place. Daub has been advised to seek guidance from the CAP Copy Advice team before advertising again. (E-08.20.08)

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