{"id":49644,"date":"2017-05-03T16:00:27","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T23:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=49644"},"modified":"2017-05-03T16:44:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T23:44:27","slug":"bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"BGO.com Fined Six Figures for Ad Violations in Landmark UKGC Ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"

BGO Entertainment became the first online gambling company to be sanctioned and fined under the UK Gambling Commission\u2019s<\/a> new social responsibility code this week.<\/p>\n

\"BGO.com
Verne Troyer stars in TV UK spots for BGO.com, but the company has been fined this week by the UKGC for violations of its code of practice in advertising. (Image: BGO.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The online casino operator, which has a strong brand presence in the UK market, thanks to a TV ad campaign fronted by Verne Troyer, best-known as Austin Powers\u2019 \u201cMini-Me,\u201d was accused by the regulator of \u201cmisleading advertising on its own and its affiliates\u2019 websites\u201d and fined \u00a3300,000.<\/p>\n

New measures introduced the UKGC in its 2015 Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice made it a requirement for licensees\u2019 advertisements to \u201cstate significant limitations and qualifications\u201d when it comes to their promotions, which includes advertising on social media and through affiliate marketing.<\/p>\n

That means operators have to outline clearly exactly what is meant by a \u201cfree bet,\u201d or a \u201cbonus,\u201d and what consumers have to do to qualify for them, such as having to play through arduous wagering requirements.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Repeated Violations<\/b><\/h2>\n

UKGC cited nine misleading advertisements\u00a0by BGO on its own website between July 2015 and July 2016 as well as 14 on\u00a0affiliates’ websites between February and October last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite extensive contact with us, BGO failed to take prompt and effective action to address the issues identified,\u201d said UKGC. \u201cBGO repeatedly provided assurances to us that it understood the requirements and had taken action to ensure that they were met.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHowever, we continued to find evidence that advertisements on BGO\u2019s own website and the websites of third parties were potentially misleading by failing to include significant limitations and qualifications of promotions.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Paul Hope, programme director at the Gambling Commission, said concerns were first raised with BGO about its advertising in July 2015 and it was important to make an example of the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want operators to take note that the issues identified in the decision notice are likely to form the basis for future compliance assessments and could lead to enforcement action,\u201d he told the Daily Telegraph.<\/p>\n

New Powers Good for Customers<\/b><\/h2>\n

Prior to the new powers being granted to the UKGC to fine operators, it was the remit of the Advertising Standards Authority, a self-regulating advertising industry body, to deliver sanctions to advertisers from all industries that crossed the line.<\/p>\n

But the ASA is unable to enforce legislation, however, and could do little more than administer a slap on the wrist and demand that a certain advertisement or promotion be pulled.<\/p>\n

A survey conducted in the UK<\/a> and by the UKGC in 2007 found that 61 per cent of respondents who gambled felt that the industry was fair and could be trusted. In a new 2016 survey, only 38 per cent of respondents agreed with that statement.<\/p>\n

Much of this new skepticism may attributed to the perception that online casino bonuses and promotions often hide their wagering requirements in deep in small print, which has alienated customers, and the UKGC\u2019s new powers should be welcomed by consumers and operators alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BGO Entertainment became the first online gambling company to be sanctioned and fined under the UK Gambling Commission\u2019s new social responsibility code this week. The online casino operator, which has a strong brand presence in the UK market, thanks to a TV ad campaign fronted by Verne Troyer, best-known as Austin Powers\u2019 \u201cMini-Me,\u201d was accused […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":49645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,19,60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBGO.com Fined Six Figures for Ad Violations in Landmark UKGC Ruling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"BGO forced to pay \u00a3300,000 for repeated failures to abide by UKGC code of practice in advertising. \u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BGO.com Fined Six Figures for Ad Violations in Landmark UKGC Ruling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BGO forced to pay \u00a3300,000 for repeated failures to abide by UKGC code of practice in advertising. \u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-03T23:00:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-03T23:44:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/5bc5bb8a414543ccc56f3caf23e0c7b6b0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/\",\"name\":\"BGO.com Fined Six Figures for Ad Violations in Landmark UKGC Ruling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/5bc5bb8a414543ccc56f3caf23e0c7b6b0.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-03T23:00:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-03T23:44:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"BGO forced to pay \u00a3300,000 for repeated failures to abide by UKGC code of practice in advertising. \u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/bgo-com-fined-six-figures-ad-violations-landmark-ukgc-ruling\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/5bc5bb8a414543ccc56f3caf23e0c7b6b0.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/5bc5bb8a414543ccc56f3caf23e0c7b6b0.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Verne Troyer stars in TV UK spots for BGO.com, but the company has been fined this week by the UKGC for violations of its code of practice in advertising. 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