Lottery Ad Banned for Linking Winning With Financial Problem Solving

The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) expressed disapproval of a Daily Mail advertisement for the People’s Postcode Lottery. The ASA deemed the advertisement irresponsible, suggesting that lottery winnings could resolve financial struggles.

The advertisement shared the experience of a couple, Craig and his significant other, whose wedding plans were delayed due to Craig’s job loss. It proceeded to explain how a £62,500 prize from the People’s Postcode Lottery enabled them to resume their wedding preparations. The ASA believed this insinuated that participating in the lottery offered a solution to financial hardships.

The Advertising Standards Authority disapproved of the lottery commercial. They believed it excessively highlighted the couple’s reliance on winning to resolve their wedding finances, particularly as the advertisement depicted them purchasing more tickets after the husband became unemployed. This, the ASA determined, presented gambling as a reasonable solution for financial difficulties, a practice strictly prohibited.