ASA bans Optival's gambling ad shown during self-exclusion searches

The UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint about a paid search ad for bestbookiesandbettingsites.co.uk, operated by Optival Ltd, which was seen on 10 August. The ad appeared when a user searched for "self exclusion bookies", a term meaning self-exclusion from betting. The ad promoted a comparison of UK betting sites along with first bet and welcome bonus offers.

The regulator said a person making this search was most likely looking for information or support to reduce their exposure to gambling. It therefore considered that promoting betting sites and bonuses was inappropriate in a context where vulnerable consumers could be among those viewing it. The company said it had never targeted the phrase and that no matching term appeared in its Google Ads reports.

Optival said it maintained negative keyword lists covering self-exclusion, GamStop and problem gambling. It said the incident was an isolated case, probably caused by automatic query matching. It nonetheless stated that it would expand its negative keyword coverage across current and future campaigns.

The regulator welcomed this commitment but ruled that robust safeguards must be in place before an ad runs. It said the fact that the website was a comparison affiliate site rather than a betting operator did not change the outcome. The panel concluded that Optival's controls were not strong enough when the ad was served and that the ad breached the social responsibility rule in section 1.3 of the CAP Code.

As a result, the ad must not appear again following a "self exclusion bookies" search, and the company must target its search ads responsibly. The ruling shows that betting affiliates are responsible for preventing harmful placements, even where a advertising platform's automatic matching contributed to the problem.