ASA warns Optival over gambling ad seen by self-excluded player

A consumer that had blocked themselves from gambling saw an ad for Bestbookiesandbettingsites.co.uk when searching for ‘self-exclusion bookies’ A single complaint filed with the UK’s ASA flagged how an advert for the site appeared following a search for ‘self-exclusion bookies’. This was seen by the complainant, who had previously self-excluded from gambling, on 10 August. The ad featured text referring to the ‘Top 15 Betting Sites UK’ and how to claim bonuses with gambling websites. When questioned by the ASA, Optival said it had never targeted ‘self-exclusion bookies’.