Casino ads banned for search term ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’

Two ads for the online casino 32Red, thrown up by the search term ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, have been banned for potentially appealing to children.

The paid-for Google search ads, seen in April, stated: “Jack and the Beanstalk 32Red.com. Get a 150% Bonus up to £150. Join 32Red Casino today & get £15 free for every £10 deposited up to £150. 24/7 Support.”

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) challenged whether the ads were likely to be of particular appeal to children and directed at those aged under 18.

It said the Jack and the Beanstalk was classified as “high risk”, which meant that visitors to the website would not be able to see it listed unless they had been age-verified. However, in this instance the game had been included on the website’s list of slot games in error.

The ASA said the inclusion of a reference to “Jack and the Beanstalk” meant that the ads were likely to be of particular appeal to children.

It said: “Because it was a highly popular classic children’s fairy tale, we considered that there was a strong possibility that this search term would be input by children, or adults who were accompanied by a child.

“We welcomed 32Red’s action in swiftly removing the ads, but concluded they had breached the Code.”

A 32Red spokesman said: “On this occasion, an error meant that it could be seen on a third-party website for a short period of time.

“We put this right as soon as we were alerted to it. We regret this happened and have taken steps to make sure this does not happen again.”