The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) prohibited a promotion from internet gaming platform 21.co.uk for overstating the significance of skill in the game of blackjack. The advertisement, appearing in March 2017, featured a well-dressed blackjack participant pondering his subsequent action. A narrator dramatically declared: “His heartbeat accelerates. His physique remains motionless. Strategizing his hand as the cards are distributed. Feeling versus reason. Intuition clashing with expertise. He reaches a decision. He shapes his fate.”
The ASA contested the advertisement on two points: firstly, if the assertion “he shapes his fate” suggested gambling triumph relied on ability instead of luck, rendering the advertisement socially irresponsible. Secondly, they inquired if the advertisement depicted gambling in a “challenging situation”.
21.co.uk contended that blackjack does involve tactics and “shapes his fate” is a commonplace expression, merely emphasizing how practice can enhance a player’s chances. Nevertheless, the ASA stood firm, judging the advertisement irresponsible.
Although the ASA recognized the man didn’t exhibit “obvious physical attributes of resilience”, they supported the second grievance. They reasoned viewers would probably perceive the high-risk, all-or-nothing wager as an act of mental fortitude or tenacity.
Notwithstanding an additional public grievance regarding the identical advertisement, which asserted that the enlarged pupils of the depicted male insinuated the “mental exhilaration encountered by individuals struggling with gambling addiction,” the ASA dismissed this apprehension.
They observed that the man presented as “generally composed” and no aspect of his portrayal hinted at obsessive conduct. Nevertheless, the ASA ultimately determined that the advertisement was prohibited from reappearing in its present format and recommended that 21.co.uk refrain from placing excessive emphasis on the significance of tactics in subsequent marketing materials.
