The latest installation in HungryBear’s free-to-play multiplayer slot series is the first title to incorporate instant prizes, turning away from the series’ typical leaderboard format for a ‘significant shift in gameplay’. 

Players will only be able to access the latest Slot Masters title via Entain‘s Ladbrokes’ platform, as part of an ongoing collaboration between HungryBear and the UK operator. 

Grant Alexander, Head of Gaming Product Marketing at Ladbrokes, commented: “Launching Rapid Rounds is a natural evolution of the immensely popular Slot Masters multiplayer game. The instant win mechanic adds a whole new layer of excitement for players, and we’re excited to offer this exclusive experience at Ladbrokes. 

The online casino supplier called upon IP from Blueprint Gaming’s Genie Jackpots to develop the title, building on an existing relationship between the two UK-based studios.

Last year, the two suppliers came together to launch Slot Masters versions of classic Blueprint Gaming slot releases. 

Alexander added: “By utilising Blueprint Gaming’s legendary Genie Jackpots as the foundation, we’ve created an experience that feels familiar yet offers something entirely fresh.”

Ladbrokes continues to leverage HungryBear’s Slot Masters series for added gamification on its UK online casino platform, having offered players the chance to win various prizes using the game’s multiplier format in recent years. 

Additionally, the two companies have collaborated on exclusive Slot Masters titles before Genie Jackpots Rapid Rounds, launching football-themed title Clash of the Day last year. 

Following that activation, HungryBear CEO and Founder Justin Chamberlain praised the firm’s partnership with Ladbrokes, stating: “We’re proud to have taken our partnership with Ladbrokes to the next level. The operator was among the first to back the Slot Masters concept, and we value their trust in deploying this latest sports version.”

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Activation of the partnership will see the operator benefit from opportunities to engage with customers and fans, with visibility at the club’s famous Anfield stadium. 

Sameer Deen, Chief Commercial Officer at Entain, said: “A passion for football is at the heart of everything we do, so creating this partnership with Liverpool Football Club, one of the most iconic and globally recognised names in sport, is truly special. 

“Across our Entain brands, we are committed to working with partners that share our values and help build and enhance customer trust. In Liverpool, we have found the perfect match – sharing great heritage, ambition, and a strong commitment to serving our communities.

“Many of Liverpool’s fans are already familiar with our Ladbrokes brand, and this partnership provides us with an exceptional opportunity to delight them for seasons to come. Football is the most popular sport among our customers, and this collaboration underscores our continued dedication to the sport and its fans.”

The deal will also see the firm building on the work of ‘Pitching In’, Entain’s grassroots sports investment programme, the partners will work together to grow and inspire grassroots football.

Ben Latty, Chief Commercial Officer at LFC, added: “Ladbrokes is one of the most established and well-recognised high-street betting firms, and we’re delighted to welcome them to the LFC partner family.

“This new partnership also enables Ladbrokes to continue driving forward with its local community work, using football to increase physical and mental wellbeing, particularly in areas of high social deprivation.”

This new agreement between LFC and Ladbrokes adheres with the Premier League’s new ‘Code of Conduct for Gambling Related Agreements in Football’, which has been introduced this season to ensure more responsible gambling sponsorships.

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In this latest instance, following Ladbrokes being penalised on a number of occasions, the advertising watchdog itself raised a challenge regarding a Tweet promoted by the Stoke headquartered group.

This was initially published by the Sky Sports Premier League account on the now rebranded entity known as X, which featured an embedded video of an Arsenal versus Manchester United game and ultimately saw the bet365 logo appear. 

In response, the brand noted that the tweet was published using the Twitter Amplify feature as part of bet365’s official sponsorship integration with Sky Sports Premier League, in addition to highlighting controls to ensure the content would only be viewed by those over 25 years of age.

“They also said they ensured that no individuals with strong appeal to young persons were included in the pre-roll advertising that they produced, prior to being shown to the Sky Sports content,” the ASA noted.

Data was also supplied to highlight that 0.2 per cent of the Sky Sports Premier League account was registered to those under the age of 18.

“They further said the bet365 part of the video ran for five seconds, in comparison to the Sky Sports Premier League part of the video which ran for 21 seconds,” it was added.

In addition to suggesting that they did not believe the clip qualified as advertising material, further data supplied, at the request of the ASA, concerned that of the central player featured in the brief video content, that being Granit Xhaka.

On Instagram 0.4 per cent were registered as under 18, while this figure stood at 32.3 per cent on TikTok. This represented a combined 3.38 per cent across both.

Sky Sports said they were not aware of receiving any complaints in relation to the tweet, with this echoed by X, which also said that it was not in breach of any advertising policies

Upholding the self raised complaint when disclosing its assessment, the ASA shared that due to the bet365 promotion of the tweet in question, the brand gained a degree of responsibility.  

“However, it had subsequently been promoted by bet365 into users’ Twitter feeds,” the ASA said. “Because bet365 had promoted the tweet, we considered that they had incorporated all of the tweet’s contents into their advertising, and the whole tweet was therefore an ad for bet365.”

The CAP code was also cited, which notifies that UK footballers who played for top clubs were considered high-risk in terms of how likely they were to be of strong appeal to under-18s.

Due to Xhaka being well known to many that follow Premier League football, including children, as well as the content being viewed in an environment where users self-identify, it was concluded that the ad was irresponsible.

The ad must not appear again in its current form, with bet365 told not to ensure that any future ads do not include a person or character that holds a strong appeal to those under 18 years of age.

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This becomes the latest action taken against the Entain owned brand regarding the social media site that is now known as X, with previous activity concerning Premier League managers and Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.

In making its latest ruling, the ASA noted that it forms part “of a wider piece of work banning gambling ads which, under strengthened rules, are prohibited from being likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s”.

The latest four Tweets in question, seen during January and February 2023, were identified following intelligence gathered by the group’s Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the ASA code.

Each of the four promoted Tweets included Novak Djokovic, with others also containing one, or a combination, of Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas, while various relevant imagery, text and polls serving as an accompaniment.

In response, Ladbrokes noted that the tweets were intended to be editorial content designed to engage with their audience, with complementary polls simply asking users to vote on tennis-related questions during the Australian Open.

“Ladbrokes acknowledged that the tweets referenced and included imagery of prominent players, but stated that they reviewed each player’s media profile, follower demographic, and sponsorship partnerships to assess whether the players would be likely to strongly appeal to under 18s,” the ASA wrote in its overall ruling.

The operator provided data to indicate the players had “hardly any” followers below the age of 21, with this, and associated brand partnerships, cited as a belief that each appealed to an older audience rather than under 18s.

However, despite acknowledging a potential lack of accuracy due to self-verification on the site, data highlighted that the impressions for all four ads varied between 24,653 and 35,050, with only one impression in the 18-24 age bracket. 

“They believed that was an anomaly and requested clarification from Twitter in relation to it,” the ASA concluded of the business’ response.

Upholding its own challenge, the ASA shared that prominent sportspeople, including tennis players at the highest level and who had a significant national profile, were considered high risk within CAP guidance in terms of how likely they were to be of strong appeal to under 18s.

In addition, the ASA also highlighted recent successes as backing-up a view of a “strong appeal to those under 18”, as well as acknowledging, but ruling out, back-up data supplied by Ladbrokes. 

The advertising regulator wrote: “We considered that it would have been acceptable for the ads to appear in a medium where those under 18, for all intents and purposes, could be entirely excluded from the audience. 

“That would apply in circumstances where those who saw the ads had been robustly age-verified as being 18 or older, such as through marketing lists that had been validated by payment data or credit checking. 

“We did not consider that marketing data inferred from user behaviour met that threshold. We acknowledged that the ads were targeted at the over 25s, but because Twitter was a media environment where users self-verified on customer sign-up, and did not use robust age-verification, we considered that Ladbrokes had not excluded the under 18s from the audience with the highest level of accuracy required for ads, the content of which was likely to appeal strongly to this age group.”

The ASA warned that the ads must not appear again in their current form, in addition to reminding Ladbrokes not to include people or characters who hold a strong appeal to those under 18 years of age in their advertising.

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The Entain-owned operator is delivering the platform through a strategic partnership with live entertainment venue The O2, music brand NME and event manager and producer AEG Presents.

The partnership also includes digital OOH media inventory at The O2 and sponsorship of the NME Awards show.

Kelly Rose, Head of Brand at Ladbrokes, commented: “We’re embarking on an exciting new era for Ladbrokes connecting thousands of fans with free access to artists and talent through the Ladbrokes LIVE platform. 

“In The O2, AEG Presents, and NME we’re working with three of the biggest and most iconic brands in the entertainment industry and this means we will be able to reward our audiences with the chance to attend some of the most exciting live shows in Britain for free.”

As part of the partnership, the Ladbrokes LIVE Private Box will be established at The O2, offering premium tickets to live shows at the venue to users who sign up for the new platform.

Other event tickets that are up for grabs include the Luno Presents All Points East music festival, the Just for Laughs comedy festival and other UK touring shows.

“We are pleased to welcome Ladbrokes as a brand partner, and its customers to our world-famous venues like The O2, and best-in-class festivals with AEG Presents,” stated Georgina Iceton, Director – Partnership Activation at AEG Global Partnerships.

“The creation of a specially designed guest box at The O2, alongside unique live experiences across AEG Europe’s venues and live events will bring an exciting new dimension of entertainment not just for Ladbrokes customers, but all our visitors.”

Ladbrokes LIVE will also offer users a chance to win free access to NME’s Club NME series of events in venues across the UK.

Holly Bishop, Chief Operating and Commercial Officer at NME, added: “We are thrilled to announce the return of the legendary Club NME, once again providing fans with unforgettable live music experiences at some of the UK’s best venues. 

“Thanks to Ladbrokes, all tickets will be completely free, making Club NME more accessible than ever. We’ll see you at the front.”

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One complaint was raised in each instance, with both parties involved told that the ads in question must not appear in their current form and reminded of future responsibilities.

Jumpman’s ‘Hey! Come Back!’ communication

One issue raised earlier in the year concerned consumers attempting to leave Jumpman’s site, which would bring up a camera symbol and the words ‘Hey! Come Back!’ in the open tab. 

It was challenged whether this was irresponsible due to the potential encouragement of harmful gambling behaviour.

In its response, Jumpman stated that just five per cent of its customer base accessed the site from desktop and would therefore see the message.

It was also said they “did not consider the message to be different to having the website name and logo visible on the tab. This, it was added, was due to there being no specific call to action.

The company also noted that the message was completely generic and did not target specific customers, and did not believe that it portrayed, condoned or encouraged any gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm. 

“They said there were no references within the message that could be seen as exploiting the susceptibilities of anyone – for example, there were no deadlines which would cause undue urgency,” ASA’s ruling read.

“Lights Camera Bingo said they did not agree with the suggestion that an ad should not be served if an individual had left the website, in case they were vulnerable. 

“They said emails and text messages were typically sent when the recipient was not on the website that was being advertised. They did not believe that their messaging was any more enticing than ads they saw from other gaming operators.”

The ASA noted the message was non-paid-for space online under their control, however, due to it alerting consumers to return to a web page it was considered a marketing communication under the CAP code remit. 

“The message ‘Hey! Come Back!’ continued to flash for the duration that the tab remained opened and disappeared only when someone clicked to close the tab or went back onto the web page. We considered in that format, consumers’ attention would be drawn to seeing the message,” the advertising watchdog said.

Despite acknowledging that the message was intended to be an alert of an open tab, the ‘come back’ wording was deemed to be a call to action that would “strongly” encourage consumers to return.

“We also considered that particularly in the case of people who had a gambling problem or were recovering gambling addicts, the message could exploit the susceptibilities of vulnerable people,” it was added.

“We did not consider that the potential impact of such messaging was any less harmful because it only appeared on devices in certain circumstances, for a section of Lights Camera Bingo’s customer base.

It was concluded that the communication would encourage players to engage in gambling behaviour that could lead to financial, social or emotional harm and could exploit the susceptibilities of vulnerable people.

Jumpman were told that the ad must not appear again in this form, and were reminded to ensure that future communications were not likely to encourage irresponsible gambling behaviour that could lead to financial, social or emotional harm or exploit the susceptibilities of vulnerable people.

Ladbrokes penalised for second straight week

In addition, a pair of Ladbrokes tweets, one featuring Eddie Howe and another featuring various Premier League managers were next to leave odds, were challenged by the ASA itself as potentially having appeal to under-18s.

This is the second time in quick succession that the group has fallen foul of the ASA, with action taken last week for a tweet featuring Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. 

The operator explained that the first was editorial in nature and featured no calls to action, promotional offers or links directing consumers where they could place bets.

Data was also offered which suggested that of 22,182 impressions, zero percentage of the targeted audience was under 25 years of age.

The second was said to be commercial in nature, however, images of current managers were used “contrary to their guidance and standard procedure for commercially oriented content”.

In each case, the ASA noted that both the sport itself, and inclusion of certain imagery, were to be of strong appeal to under-18s.

“We acknowledged that the ads were targeted at over-25s, but because Twitter was a media environment where users self-verified on customer sign-up, and did not use robust age-verification, we considered that Ladbrokes had not excluded under-18s from the audience with the highest level of accuracy required for ads the content of which was likely to appeal strongly to under-18s,” it was noted.

The ads must also not appear again in their current form, with Ladbrokes told not to include people or characters who had strong appeal to those under 18 years of age in their advertising.

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LC International Ltd, owner of Ladbrokes, received word from the ASA that its February 2023 tweet – probing users to guess Paul’s next move after his defeat to Tommy Fury – “must not appear again in its current form” after being considered to have “a strong appeal” to under-18s. 

The tweet asked Twitter users whether Paul – who co-founded US sports betting operator Betr – would ‘win the re-match’, ‘head to the MMA’, ‘return to YouTube’, or ‘join the WWE’, but the ASA considers that the use of the individual “breached the code” and was “irresponsible”. 

Despite the tweet containing no calls to action, promotional offers or links back to Ladbrokes, and while boxing is considered by CAP guidance to have no “moderate or high risk” for under-18 appeal, Paul’s background was considered enough to make the tweet unlawful. 

Ladbrokes responded to the claim by assuring that its Twitter feed was age-gated and therefore could not be accessed by users in the age range. 

The ASA report revealed that the tweet was promoted and targeted to users aged 25 and older, receiving 16,494 impressions when it was posted after the boxing match. Of those impressions, 47.1 per cent were aged between 20 and 29 years old. 

However, Paul’s following spans multiple social media platforms, and statistics find that although zero per cent of his Twitter followers are registered as under 18, 13, 16 and 18 per cent of his Instagram, Youtube and TikTok followers are registered as under 18 respectively. 

Paul’s background in acting was also considered, as the social media personality had appeared in Bizaardvark, a Disney Channel show that ran from 2016 to 2018 and targeted a teenage audience. 

Outlining the CAP guidance on situations involving social media personalities, the ASA report stated: “CAP guidance stated that sportspeople involved in clearly adult-oriented sports who were ‘notable’ stars with significant social media and general profiles which made them well-known to under-18s was considered moderate risk in terms of how likely they were to be of strong appeal to under-18s.”

The report concluded that the advertisement had breached CAP code (Edition 12) rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.12 (Gambling) and advised LC International “not to include a person or character who had strong appeal to those under 18” in its marketing.

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Over the weekend, the UK’s biggest retail betting services individually revealed that they would follow high street counterparts by closing all retail trade on Monday, a bank holiday ordered by the government to allow the public to observe Queen Elizabeth’s procession and funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Companies to have abided by the bank holiday include Betfred, Ladbrokes Coral and William Hill, whose management teams posted to socials to announce their temporary closure.

“The Queen’s dedication and work ethic throughout her life is an inspiration to us all. If only there were more people like her, the world would be a better place,” stated Betfred Founder, Fred Done, issuing his own personal statement. 

“We reflect on Her Majesty’s passion for horse racing. Who could forget the scenes at Royal Ascot when she won the Gold Cup in 2013? And when England won the World Cup in 1966, she presented the trophy to captain Bobby Moore. Unforgettable moments that we will treasure forever.”

Rank Group confirmed that its Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor establishments would be closed between the hours of 4 am to 6 pm, in order to respect a “nation in mourning”.

Other brands to announce they are observing the bank holiday include Aspers Group, Buzz Bingo, Genting UK and Metropolitan Gaming.

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Reported by The Times, a former high-staking customer at the group, named Simon Rose, has begun a High Court action, accusing the Entain subsidiary of allegedly failing to stop his problem gambling. 

Rose stated in the publication that Ladbrokes allowed him to lose £231,000 over seven months on bets totalling an alleged £1.8m. 

Furthermore, the article detailed that Rose bet an average of £18,000 on the days he gambled, despite earning £3,000 and given a daily deposit limit of £20,000. 

Placing his bets in the UK and United Arab Emirates, Rose has accused Ladbrokes of allegedly “breaching its licence” by “failing to carry out effective” checks of his source of fund or monitoring his level of betting between 2015 and May 2016. 

Ladbrokes has denied violating any licence conditions, while Entain has stressed that the incidents in question occurred over two years prior to its acquisition of the Ladbrokes Coral group in 2017. 

Cited from The Times, a spokesperson for Ladbrokes stated that it was unable to comment on an active court case but expressed: “We would note that the claims in question took place two years before we acquired Ladbrokes.”

Rose also claimed that the brand in question “made no checks” regarding his money origins until he had “built up losses of more than £100,000. 

Following a discussion with representatives, Rose set a deposit limit of £1,000 a week on his account yet claimed he was allowed to increase it to £20,000 in April 2016. The following month, Rose said he permanently excluded himself from betting with the firm. 

As aforementioned, the accusation against the Entain subsidiary follows on from last month’s £17m penalty from the UKGC. However, the operator, in accepting the enforcement action, noted that the regulator “found no evidence whatsoever of criminal spend within Entain’s operations”. 

The UKGC confirmed that the gambling group’s online business paid £14m and its retail business account for the remaining £3m. Furthermore, a threat of licence revocation for “further serious breaches” was also issued. 

Responding to the UKGC action last month, Entain stated that it “accepts that certain legacy systems and processes” supporting its operation during 2019 and 2020 sell short of adhering to social responsibility and anti-money laundering safeguards.

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This was a paid-for Facebook post seen on March 31, 2021, which states ‘Play The Goonies Jpk at Ladbrokes. Get 30+ Free Spins on top of your £50…’. 

Below that was an image of a nautical map with superimposed text that stated ‘The Goonies’, along with some realistic-looking golden doubloons and a logo that read ‘Jackpot King’.

Responding to the complaint, Ladbrokes stated that the ad had been through their internal review process, but had subsequently been removed from Facebook, associated ad campaigns, and their ad catalogue in response to this action.

It added that the post had been targeted at males and females aged 18 years old and over, with existing customers and self-excluded users having been excluded from the post’s targeting.

Furthermore, the company highlighted that the ad did not contain any imagery or characters from The Goonies, in addition to asserting a belief that it would not be well known to children in 2021 after being released in 1985.

In its assessment, the ASA acknowledged steps taken by the company to target the ad only at those aged 18 years of age and over, as well as the “cult status” of the film in question, particularly among adults who were children when the film was originally released

“We considered that because of that, it was not a recent or current film with which children were likely to be familiar. Nonetheless, we considered the content of the film was likely to have some appeal for them,” the ASA stated.

“However, given its popularity among adults, we did not consider that it was likely to appeal more to under-18s than over-18s.

“We noted that while the ad featured ‘The Goonies’ logo and typeface, it did not feature any characters or other imagery from the film. 

“We considered that the nautical map and golden doubloons featured in the ad were not colourful, cartoonish, or otherwise presented in a way that was likely to resonate with children, and were more likely to have general or adult appeal.”

It was concluded that the advertisement was not of particular appeal to under-18s, and had not breached the code.

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