The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an online advert by Hollywoodbets.

The ad contained the Hollywood bets logo, and text that stated, “UP TO £30 BACK AS FREE BETS + 20 FREE SPINS” and featured a “SIGN HERE” button. The ad also included an image of people dressed in sports clothing, and featured a footballer, a tennis player, a golfer, an American footballer and a jockey riding a horse.

A person who was aged under-18 and had registered their date of birth to create a profile on the site, challenged whether the ad was appropriately targeted.

Hollywoodbets International UK Ltd t/a Hollywoodbets said their ad was placed on the-VFL.com by their affiliate partner Playhill Ltd t/a Clever Advertising.

Clever Advertising explained that the-VFL.com hosted the Virtual Football League, where players participated in organised competitive matches, modelled after real football leagues, and that close alignment with real-world football and competitive play positioned the platform closer to traditional sports where, they said, consumers were familiar with seeing gambling ads.

The ASA noted that the complainant, aged 16, had created an account for the-VFL.com, for which they had registered their date of birth. We acknowledged that Clever Advertising maintained that the ad was approved from display prior to user log in, but understood the complainant was logged in when the ad was served to them. Because the ad was served to a user of the website who was known to be under 18 by their registered login details, we considered that the ad was directed at those below the age of 18 through the selection of the media in which it appeared and therefore breached the Code.

The ad must not be used again without further, specific targeting to minimise the likelihood of under-18s being exposed to it. We told Hollywoodbets International UK Ltd t/a Hollywoodbets to ensure that their ads were appropriately targeted and not targeted at under-18s.