ASA rules against Happy Tiger Bingo for Challenge 25 violation
Despite proving the individual's age, the ASA concluded that the advert breached BCAP Code.
A TV advert by Happy Tiger Bingo has breached BCAP Code rule 17.4.6 according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This is due to the ad featuring an individual who could be perceived as being under 25.
In the advert, a young man gives a testimonial on the fun he has had playing Happy Tiger Bingo games. As he speaks, text appears labelling him as a ‘postgraduate student.’ From this, a complaint was filed, with concerns regarding the age of the individual.
Challenge 25 is a policy in place across the UK that is typically upheld by bars, casinos and other locations where individuals must be 18 years old to enter. The strategy states that those who seem to be 25 or older must carry ID to confirm they are over the legal age for participation, with failure to produce identification making the individual unable to enter the location or engage with the activity.
By stating the individual in the advert to be a postgraduate, it can be assumed that this individual is within the age bracket of 18-25. This is reinforced, according to the ASA, by the individual’s ‘self-conscious’ body language and use of ‘filler words such as “obviously,” “like” and “so yeah.”
While Happy Tiger Bingo was able to confirm the age of the actor at the time of recording by submitting a birth certificate to the ASA, the Authority concluded that even with this information, viewers watching the ad would be unable to confirm whether the individual was over 25.
The ruling concluded that the advert could not be played again in its current form. It also encouraged Happy Tiger Bingo to avoid featuring ‘anyone in their ads who was or seemed to be under 25 years old’ in future.
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