Ad description
An Instagram post from the PokerStars account, seen on 23 December 2024 featured a video of two people, Rory and McKola, in a casino. One was wearing a PokerStars branded jumper. Rory said, “Can you believe that? I invested £100 and five minutes later, [bleep]”. The video then flashed back to provide context, with McKola greeting viewers. “Yes people, what’s going on? McKola and Rory here, and PokerStars Casino have set us a little challenge. We’ve got a £100 each Ror, 10 spins, who’s gonna win?”
The video showed them competing on separate slot machines, playing "The Big Bass Bonanza". McKola exclaimed, "Mate, I’ve just won £185 on one spin". Rory responded, "No ... you serious?" McKola continued, "Another £100", as the credit display updated to £320. As McKola won another £100, Rory asked, "Are you just pressing the button? Are you doing anything? Give me some tips here", to which McKola replied, "You gotta heat your finger up." Rory blew on his finger, pushed the button and won more money.
McKola ended up with £662.50, while Rory finished with £240. McKola declared, "Yeah, I’m just a lucky guy" and Rory added, "He beat me at everything. He beat me at the Last Longer, and now he’s beating me at slots.” The video concluded with Rory facing the camera as he did in the clip at the beginning of the ad, saying, “Can you believe that? I invested £100 and five minutes later, £240 because of my skill at slots”.
Text in the caption stated “@chelsearory can’t catch a break! #PokerStars #Poker #PokerTournament #PokerLife #PokerPlayer. Play Responsibly. +18. BeGambleAware.org”.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad portrayed, condoned or encouraged gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial harm.
Response
Stars Interactive Ltd t/a PokerStars acknowledged that the ad did not comply with the CAP Code. They said that the ad was published in error and removed it from Instagram upon receiving the complaint. They said that they provided mandatory advertising compliance training to all employees involved in UK ad campaigns and were committed to ensuring that all forms of advertising followed the relevant legislation, regulations and any applicable industry codes of practice.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications for gambling must not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm. CAP and BCAP’s Advertising Guidance on ‘Gambling Advertising: responsibility and problem gambling’ also stated that marketers should take care to avoid trivialising gambling and avoid the impression that the decision to gamble should be taken lightly, for example they should not encourage frequent or repetitive participation.
The ASA considered that the portrayal of McKola consistently winning large sums of money in a short period of time created a false sense of guaranteed success. Rory, the "loser" of the challenge, was also still shown making money, which reinforced that impression. Additionally, Rory claimed that playing slots was an investment, as he stated, "I invested £100 and five minutes later, £240 because of my skill at slots." His action of blowing on his finger and pushing the button to win more money gave the impression that luck or simple actions could lead to significant rewards. We considered that the claim that playing slots was an investment, together with the portrayal of easy and repetitive wins, gave the impression that the decision to gamble had been taken lightly and was therefore likely to encourage some consumers to participate repetitively. For those reasons, we concluded that the ad portrayed, condoned and encouraged gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible and could lead to harm, and therefore breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.1 (Gambling).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Stars Interactive Ltd t/a PokerStars to ensure that their future ads did not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm. For example, their ads should not trivialise gambling, encourage frequent and repetitive participation, or describe gambling as an investment.
