ASA takes action against Smart Gravity after user’s search

Smart Gravity has become the latest business in the gambling industry to be reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after its promotion for “Fast Signups and Mega Bonuses” appeared when a user searched for “help with gambling”. The company, which operates the affiliate review site top10onlinecasinoreviews.co.uk, argued that it had no intention or commercial interest in advertising to vulnerable people or those seeking addiction support. It also claimed that it used a negative keyword list intended to block their ads from appearing alongside search terms related to gambling addiction, harm, or safer gambling, though it had not specifically targeted the query “help with gambling”. The ASA said the advert breached CAP Code Rule 1.3 in relation to social responsibility. The regulator added that displaying ads offering “mega bonuses” to users searching for help presents a risk of harm. “The advertiser’s negative keyword list and targeting controls had not provided a sufficiently robust safeguard against the ad being shown to potentially vulnerable consumers,” the ASA stated. “Because we considered that there was a strong likelihood that vulnerable consumers seeking to reduce their exposure to and engagement with gambling ads and websites had been served an ad promoting casino websites following a search for “help with gambling”, we concluded that the ad had not been responsibly targeted. “The ad must not be served following the search “help with gambling” again. We told Smart Gravity Ltd t/a top10onlinecasinoreviews.co.uk to ensure that their search ads were responsibly targeted.” ASA continues clampdown It follows a string of gambling-related adverts which the ASA has pulled in recent months. The regulator banned a coordinated advertising campaign by Midnite in August after receiving 125 complaints. This followed a ban on a BOYLE Sports free bets campaign which the ASA deemed to be “socially irresponsible”. It looks like the UK’s advertising watchdog is ramping up action against the industry, adding another layer of pressure for firms which are already feeling the heat from the Gambling Commission and the government.