UK Bingo Ad Deemed Irresponsible - 05-29-08

May 29 - The strict Advertising Standards Authority in the UK has slammed bookmaker William Hill, for running a bingo advertisement which is condoning "socially irresponsible" gambling. The ad was subsequently banned after the ASA published a ruling on the issue.

The bingo ad shows a woman so keen to get her husband out of the house in the morning that she moves the clock's hands forward. As soon as he has left, the woman bounds upstairs to sit down and have her fun at William Hill bingo, saying: "I get mine the minute he is out the door." After playing at the virtual bingo hall, the ad shows the woman moving the clock hands back to their original hour and saying: "Doesn't time fly!"

The Advertising Standards Authority was thoroughly unimpressed with the bingo ad, saying it "implied that the woman was desperate to play bingo and was either unable to wait any longer or wanted to keep that secret from her husband." As such, the ASA warned that ads such as these condoned "socially irresponsible" gambling that could lead to social or financial harm.

Bingo ads in the United Kingdom generally need to be previewed by a responsible body before they are allowed on screen, however the body that allowed the William Hill ad to pass through, Clearcast, said that it had been convinced by the company that it was all done in good humor and did not depict a woman who preferred playing alone.

New advertising regulations pertaining to the gambling industry were introduced into the United Kingdom last year and the Advertising Standards Authority forbids ads that portray gambling in certain lights.

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