The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have said they’ve upheld a recent complaint against Play’n Go for using cartoon imagery in a recent ad campaign – saying this is more likely to appeal to children.
ASA Release Ruling On Play’n Go and Mecca Bingo Complaints
Two gambling-related advertisements were brought to the attention of the ASA recently – one from Play’n Go, who are a leading supplier to the online casino industry, and another from Mecca Bingo.
The Play’n Go ad was under the spotlight for having cartoon imagery of an Easter Bunny superhero for a game called ‘Eggspedition’ – which the ASA ruled would appeal to children and those under the age of 18.
This offering on some of the UK online casino sites featured a cartoon superhero bunny (not pictured), a robot DJ, plus a princess.
Play’n Go had three separate ads relating to this offering, which were served by Adroll in April 2025.
In delivering their ruling against Play’n Go Malta, the ASA said the images used breached CAP code rules 16.1 and 16.3.12.
Which state that gambling ads appealing to those under 18, especially reflecting youth culture, are prohibited.
Even though these ads carried 18+ labels plus responsible gambling logos – the adverts were still deemed to be appealing to children and there were even examples of them appearing as ads in children’s email accounts.
With the ASA concluding that the targeted measures in place were still not enough to exclude these from those under 18.
As a result of the findings, the ASA have told Play’n Go to not use child-related images in any future ads for any new online casinos – unless targeting is demonstrably age-restricted.
Play’n Go are not the first company to have a complaint upheld this year.
In June 2025 Ladbrokes also came under fire for their use of “Ladbucks” – saying it was too a-like video games Robux and V-Bucks.
Mecca Bingo Spared By ASA After Failing To Uphold Complaint
The second complaint was against Mecca Bingo, regarding a Facebook post they made.
However, in contrast to the Play’n Go ruling, the ASA concluded that this advert didn’t breach the CAP Code.
This social media post included emojis relating to a film quiz that asked users to name well-known Tom Hanks films.
The initial complaint was brought – saying the cartoon-like emojis would also appeal to children and the under 18’s.
But the ASA didn’t uphold this – saying the content lacked strong appeal to those aged under 18.
This Mecca Bingo post was also not a paid-for ad, but was promoting the Mecca Bingo in Luton – where most of the users there are aged 25+ according to the Mecca Bingo data.
The ASA added that they decided these emojis were part of the film puzzle quiz and more targeted for adults – with no direct link to children.
As a result the ASA are taking no further action towards Mecca Bingo.
Andy is an experienced betting and gambling journalist with over 20 years industry experience. He brings an excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and industry gambling news.
