A gambling company has been ordered to remove online adverts which deliberately target children.
When searching for ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ on Google, the first result was an advert for a casino game of the same name on the website of gambling firm 32Red.
The game featured characters from the children’s story and offered a bonus of up to £150 for first-time players.
Appealing
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the two adverts and ordered 32Red to ensure its marketing did not appeal to children.
The ASA said that because it is a highly popular classic children’s fairy tale, “the ads were likely to be of particular appeal to children”.
It added that there was a “strong possibility” children would search for the story online, 32Red “had therefore directed gambling ads to those aged under 18 years of age”.
Tarzan
The company removed the adverts after it was informed of the breach of regulations, and has also removed the game from its website.
However, it continues to host other online casino games designed to appeal to children, including Jurassic World, Tarzan, Wacky Panda, and Dolphin Quest.
In April, the ASA found that five companies had been deliberately targeting children by advertising their games on websites for kids.
The websites included downloadable colouring-in pages, stories for children, online homework sites and dressing-up games.
For information on the Bible’s teaching on gambling, see our explanation here.