888 to withdraw controversial adverts from London transport network

Gambling Insider had warned of the potential carelessness of the advertising campaign. London's buses and tubes will no longer carry the adverts.

888casino
Listen To Article

888 has removed its latest gambling campaign from around London.

Updated: A spokesperson for 888 confirmed that there was no suggestion from Transport for London (TfL) to remove the advertisements. 

Rather, the advertisements were removed due to feedback on them.

As sent to Gambling Insider, the spokesperson said: "888 is resolutely committed to safe and responsible marketing practices and ensures all marketing activity is fully compliant with the strict advertising regulations applied across our industry."

---

In last week's GI Friday, Gambling Insider questioned the thinking behind the campaign and, according to reports in the UK media, it will no longer run.

Indeed, it might be time to evoke a new advertising campaign… and this might be something Gambling Insider and The Guardian agree on...

The advertisements were placed on or around bus stops, tube stations and inside the carriages themselves.

They read “This carriage is now a casino,” “Your bus is now a casino”, or others to that effect.

The advertisements were met with widespread backlash, from both the public, organisations and politicians alike.

National Expert Advisor on Gambling Harms Henrietta Bowden-Jones, said: “No it’s not a casino, it’s a London Underground train carriage.

“A child in school uniform was sitting below this gambling advert.”

This was shared on social media alongside a photo of the advertisement in question.

TfL has been notoriously strict with advertisements in the past, infamous for rejecting advertisements for cake and cheese.

An 888 spokesperson said, as reported by The Guardian but since confirmed to Gambling Insider: “We continuously listen to feedback regarding the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and acknowledge that, while fully compliant with all advertising regulations and standards, our latest campaign could be interpreted in a different manner to the brand position we aim for.

“As a result, we have decided to change the focus of this campaign and are withdrawing certain adverts that are currently running.”

However, there was no clear indication as to which adverts in particular would be taken down.

A London Labour spokesperson said: “City Hall commissioned an independent review of existing research on harmful gambling to help develop understanding of this subject.

“Further policy work is under way and will be considered carefully by Sadiq if he is re-elected on 2 May.”


Casino News Sponsor
Premium+ Connections
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium
 
Premium Connections
Consultancy
Executive Profiles
Soft2Bet
Scientific Games
Digitain Malta
Follow Us

Facing Facts: Q3 2024 analysis

Gambling Insider takes a look at the Q3 results of operators...

Taking stock: The final count of 2024

Gambling Insider tracks operator and supplier prices of some...

CEO Special: Flutter CEO Peter Jackson – Playing to win

As the biggest publicly traded operator in gambling meets th...

CEO Special: Holland Casino CEO Petra de Ruiter – High flier

Petra de Ruiter, Holland Casino CEO, speaks to Gambling Insi...

A welcome from your host

A message from the Founder of the Global Gaming Awards and G...

From the event manager

A message from the Event Manager of the Global Gaming Awards...

From the Awards adjudicator

KPMG in the Crown Dependencies is the official voting adjudi...

The process

The Global Gaming Awards have deservingly earned the reputat...