ASA sanctions Play’n GO: ads for their slot machines deemed too childish
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19 Jul 2025 •
Reading time: 2 minutes The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has targeted three banner ads from games publisher Play’n GO Malta Ltd. Distributed via the Adroll platform, the ads featured a superhero bunny, a DJ robot and anime-style princesses. The ASA considers that these visuals, despite their ‘18+’ labels and responsible gaming messages, were likely to attract under-18s.
Three campaigns banned, three controversial symbols
- The superhero rabbit holding an Easter egg.
- The DJ robot with a pixelated pink face, promoting Spinnin’ Records into the Beat.
- Anime-style princesses promoting the Moon Princess Origins series.
These visuals, deemed too “cute” or too much “youth pop culture”, prompted a number of complaints from users.
The ASA’s message: disavowal of self-declared age mechanisms
According to the CAP Code (rules 16.1 and 16.3.12), gambling advertisements must neither target nor attract minors. Symbols with a strong “youth” value, such as heroes or cartoons, are therefore strictly prohibited.
Play’n GO acknowledged that these graphic creations could be of interest to minors, but defended the use of Adroll, claiming that only Internet users who identified themselves as adults would have seen the ads.
The ASA was not convinced: self-regulation via cookies and behavioural models (‘lookalike’) does not offer enough guarantees. Minors were able to see these ads, right next to their mailboxes.
The penalty: an immediate and mandatory ban
The ASA has asked Play’n GO to withdraw these visuals immediately and not to broadcast any more similar content until strict age mechanisms have been put in place:
“Play’n GO believed the images were popular with adults and accepted that they could be appealing to children. The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Play’n GO Malta Ltd not to include imagery that was likely to have a strong appeal to those under 18 years of age in their ads in the future.”
The authority says it is not withdrawing the publisher’s licence, but another incident could draw the attention of the UK Gambling Commission.
What are the solutions for operators?
To stay within the rules, the ASA is urging companies to employ:
- Verified databases (linked to payments or official verification)
- Facial recognition or scans of identity documents
- Digital tracking technologies that are more secure than simple cookies
These measures, although costly and still experimental, are gradually becoming the norm.
Towards tougher advertising surveillance
The trend is gathering pace: other players such as Sky Vegas, Betfred and SkillOnNet have also been warned for content deemed too child-friendly.In continental Europe, countries such as France, Italy and Germany are tightening the rules, sometimes to the point of banning gambling ads altogether or limiting them to certain time slots.