The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has announced its verdict on an advert displayed on the Portsmouth FC website by Kwiff, a subsidiary of Eaton Gate Gaming.

The advert was shown on 15 December 2022 and read, “Grab up to 200 Cash Free Spins on Book of Dead! Wager £20 ($24) on slots and Get 40 Cash Free Spins for five consecutive days. Sign Up Kwiff.”

However, this gambling-related advert was shown in a news article relating to the Junior Blues, which had information dedicated to memberships for children aged between the ages of four and 17.

In response, Eaton Gate Gaming claimed that the advert was only shown on the news section of the Portsmouth FC website and not the Junior Blues membership pages.

From analysing tracking data, Eaton Gaming also assured that out of the 33 individuals who had interacted with the advert, everyone had been over the age of 18 as they had passed the age-verification system.

On the specific page where the advert was shown, the phrase “do not worry if you are aged 18 or over, as we also have adult membership packages available” was displayed, which caused a lot of contention between Eaton Gate Gaming and ASA.

Eaton Gate Gaming claimed that information on the children’s membership packages was primarily targeted at parents of the children, while ASA rebuked that it was possible for older children in the Pompey Teen (13-17 years old) category to view this page themselves.

Regulatory action to be made against Eaton Gate Gaming and Kwiff includes a restriction on the kinds of articles its adverts can be shown on, as well as a warning that future advertisements should not be shown to under-18-year-olds.