ASA bans foreign lottery ad

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of the UK has banned an advertising for a foreign lottery website as it found that the ad did not clearly reveal two things:  first, that gamblers were betting on the outcome of the game rather than participating in it and second, that prizes were subject to US taxes.

LottoGo.com, formerly World Lottery Club, put an advertisement about its US Mega Millions lottery in July, stating “Mega Millions £256 Million”, and further: “Mega Millions has an opening jackpot of $15 million with no cap. It makes the world’s biggest lottery winners!”

A complainant said the ad was misleading because the prize amounts stated were subject to US taxes and other deductions and it did not clearly state that LottoGo was offering the opportunity to bet on the outcome of the lottery rather than participate in it.

Annexio, trading as LottoGo, said it was industry practice to advertise potential prize amounts pre-tax, and it was not possible for them to know the tax status of their players, who were resident in a range of jurisdictions.

They said the ad made clear that tax and other deductions may be made from the winnings.

It said the website made clear to consumers that they were betting on the outcome of lotteries rather than entering them.

The ASA said terms on the website said the pay-out could be lower than stated if it were taken as a lump sum, and might be further reduced to copy how US taxes might reduce winnings from the actual lottery, but said this needed to be included prominently where prize fund amounts were quoted.

It also found the overall impression was that consumers were being offered the opportunity to play the Mega Millions lottery, among others, even though the site was offering consumers the opportunity to bet on the outcome via a gambling operator.

The ASA said: “Because consumers were unlikely to understand from the ad as a whole that they were being offered the opportunity to bet on the outcome of a lottery via a gambling operator, rather than participate in the lottery itself, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”

Source: 5star.media