Gambling Ads Spark Controversy in Looney Tunes Game

The United Kingdom’s advertising regulatory body, the ASA, halted four gaming promotions from LottoGo EuroMillions, William Hill Vegas, Betfair Bingo, and Dunder. These businesses slipped up by not guaranteeing their advertisements weren’t viewed by minors.

Imagine this: these promotions appeared in February within a Looney Tunes game application – a truly unfortunate situation. The application, “Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem,” allows users to obtain in-game rewards by viewing advertisements or finishing tasks.

The ASA emphasized that these gambling firms violated the regulations, particularly rule 16.3.13 of the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) code. This regulation focuses on safeguarding children and dictates that gambling promotions cannot be positioned where they are likely to attract anyone below the age of 18.

LottoGo, Dunder, and Betfair swiftly blamed Tapjoy, the external advertising platform they employed, stating they had terminated their collaboration. Conversely, William Hill indicated they had blocked the application and would not advertise on it again, whether through Tapjoy or any other entity.

Even the application itself faced criticism for being categorized as possessing mature gambling content. Reportedly, this was an error, and they assert to have rectified it.