ASA Beleagured Buzz Bingo received a stern rebuke this week by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Following a complaint made to the ASA about an advert published on Buzz Bingo’s Facebook page on October 20, 2023, promoting Halloween offers on the operator’s platform in a cartoon manner, the UK's advertising watchdog upheld the complaint, ruling against Buzz Bingo.
The ASA ruled that cartoon Halloween imagery that was “likely to appeal to children”. The ruling came despite Buzz Group Ltd (Buzz Bingo) saying the ad was featured on their social media page which was restricted to Facebook users aged 18 years and above. The operator of the Buzz Bingo online website also said that the ad was also used as part of a focused campaign specifically targeted at users aged 25 who had a confirmed interest in bingo.
The ad posted on Facebook featured: “animated footage of a large full moon above a scene which featured grinning pumpkin heads, a lit church with towers whose roofs resembled pointed witches’ hats, bats flying around, a spider in a web and a graveyard with a tombstone and a cross.”
Text in a font that resembled slime stated “MONSTER MONDAYS – £50,000 MUST BE WON EVERY MONDAY IN OCTOBER”.
Ad Banned by ASA
Acknowledging the steps taken by Buzz Bingo, the ASA ruled that “The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Buzz Group Ltd not to include themes or imagery that were likely to have strong appeal to those under 18 years of age in their ads in the future.”
Ben has been an massive bingo enthusiast and fan since playing at the seaside as a kid. Dedicated to bringing you the latest and best bingo news from the UK
