Casumo chided by ASA for inadvertently marketing to problem gamblers

Casumo, a UK-facing gambling operator out of Malta, recently drew some unwanted attention from the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for a mistake that almost anyone could have made. Their big mistake? Failing to assume that problem gamblers might Google the word unsubscribe as they struggle to kick the gambling habit once and for all.
According to a report in The Guardian, the ASA discovered that Casumo ads were appearing on Google searches for the word unsubscribe. That may sound well and good to the layman, but to the ASA, that raised a big red flag. When regulators searched the phrase “How to unsubscribe from all gambling” and saw a Casumo ad reading, “Welcome bonus to new players Casumo 100% and 20 free spins,” and also invited people to “create an account & play now!” pop up, they went to work investigating.
In their report on the matter the ASA said, “We acknowledged that on receipt of the complaint Casumo had immediately taken action to address where their ads were served.
“However, because we considered there was a strong possibility that vulnerable consumers seeking to prevent exposure to gambling ads and access to gambling websites might have been served a gambling ad following a search for ‘how to unsubscribe from all gambling’, we concluded that the ad had not been responsibly targeted.”
For their part, Casumo officials maintained that they have been working within the letter of the regulations, but never thought that unsubscribe was a trigger word for problem gamblers.
The company was let off with a warning and company officials are likely wracking their brains trying to figure out the most obscure phrases that problem gamblers might be Googling.