Summary
On 4 June 2025, the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) upheld a complaint that two in-app betting advertisements (“ads”) displayed on the real-time sports data, news and content provider, LiveScore, had not been appropriately targeted. Users of the LiveScore app under the age of 18 had been exposed to such advertisements and, as such, the ads breached the UK Code of Non-broadcasting Advertising (“CAP Code”).
Background
The two ads in question related to LiveScore Bet, which is a distinct product from the LiveScore app, albeit the two companies operate within the same corporate structure (the “LiveScore Group”). LiveScore explained that it was a real-time sports data, news and content provider that did not offer gambling services, whereas LiveScore Bet is a licensed online sports-betting product.
Upon users entering the LiveScore app/website, they are requested to select whether they are 18 or over, or under 18. Depending on the choice selected, the content displayed in the app differs – with the under 18 version of the app not including betting ads. The intention behind the age-gating tool was to prevent people under the age of 18 from receiving betting-related ads; however, in the two cases mentioned below, the system did not operate as intended.
The first ad was seen on an Android device and featured an option for betting odds on sports games to be shown, along with accompanying links to the LiveScore Bet app. The second ad was seen on an IOS device on a page outlining team lineups ahead of a sports match. Betting odds and the words “LiveScore Bet” were displayed, which linked through to the LiveScore Bet app when clicked. The ads were understood by the complainant to have been shown in the under-18 form of the app, and as such, they challenged whether they had been appropriately targeted. LiveScore later stated they had not been able to replicate the ad appearing in the under-18 version, despite multiple waves of testing, but that the second scenario occurred due to a technical error.
Decision
The ASA noted and understood that these two instances appeared to have been errors, and the ads were not intended by LiveScore to have been displayed on the under-18 form of the app. Furthermore, LiveScore stated the current version of the app was working correctly, and the issue was confined to an individual IOS version of the app that would not have impacted many individuals, which the ASA acknowledged.
Notwithstanding the errors, the ASA concluded that LiveScore had not appropriately targeted its ads, contrary to the CAP Code rules on gambling and social responsibility.
Comment
The decision highlights the strict level of expectations to which companies that advertise betting providers must adhere. The existence of a self-disclosure age-gating system was not sufficient, and despite the incidents arising without LiveScore’s intention, the strict line drawn by the ASA outlines that accidental exposures are not a defence to inappropriate targeting.
LiveScore’s age-gating system is not commonly adopted by other sports media sites and news services which display gambling ads. In a press release, LiveScore noted that its implementation of an age-gating screen “is an industry leading, voluntary safeguard, which encourages under-18 users to remove adult-focused content (including gambling ads) from their LiveScore experience”. LiveScore’s voluntary attempts to prevent under-18s seeing gambling ads on their app/website was, in fact, the reason the ASA was compelled to find that they had not appropriately targeted the ads. As the age-gating system specifically designates users under the age of 18 to a specific form of the app, the presence of gambling ads in this form of the app draws the automatic conclusion that the ads were not appropriately targeted, regardless of the reason they were displayed there.
In its decision, the ASA instructed LiveScore that the ads must not reappear in the under-18 version of the LiveScore app. It therefore did not discourage the use of an age-gating tool, but highlighted the need to implement rigorous testing to ensure technical bugs do not impact the integrity of the system.
Co-authored by James Head, Solicitor Apprentice
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