UK Advertising Watchdog Slams Lottoland for Misleading Ads

The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) took action against deceptive advertisements from Lottoland appearing on Bing and Google. Consumers voiced complaints because the promotions implied the purchase of genuine lottery entries, while Lottoland only allowed wagering on the results of lotteries such as the Irish Lotto and US Powerball. They attempted to attract customers with phrases like “Lottoland Irish Lotto – just £2” and connections to charitable organizations, but it was ultimately misleading.

Despite Lottoland’s agreement to modify the advertisements, technical issues prevented the updates from displaying correctly. The ASA, taking a firm stance, upheld the complaint. They emphasized that using terms like “Lotto” and names of major lotteries without sufficient context created the erroneous perception of interacting with official lottery providers. Including references to UK charities further exacerbated the issue.

In conclusion, Lottoland’s advertisements violated regulations due to their misleading nature. The ASA prohibited them from appearing on Bing and Google in their present format.

The advertising authority issued a warning to Lottoland, stating that all forthcoming campaigns must explicitly disclose that they are offering wagers on lottery results, rather than genuine lottery entries. They stressed the importance of Lottoland making this distinction abundantly clear in all promotional content, guaranteeing that the difference is conspicuous and unambiguous.