ASA Strikes Down Ad Complaint Against Buzz Bingo

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled in favor of Buzz Group and the latter’s Buzz Bingo brand over the publication of a gambling ad that appeared on the Facebook account of the popular website on April 12, 2025.

ASA Says Buzz Bingo Did Not Breach Any Laws

In it, an action figure with no specific name could be seen. The ad then prompted users to use generative AI, such as ChatGPT, to create a personalized action figure, which is why the ad’s label read: “[NAEME] ACTION FIGURE.”

The complaint said that because of its purpose and visuals, the ad could be appealing to children, a statement that ASA has flatly turned down. ASA did not agree that the ad included imagery that was “likely to be of strong appeal to those under 18 years of age,” therefore dismissing it.

The action figure in question used in the ad as a staple was based on a Buz Bingo’s employee at the Grimsby branch, and they had absolutely no celebratory status to speak of. It was an AI-generated action figure that was purposefully designed to be common and ordinary, with no distinct features. ASA agreed with this argument in its arguments for striking down the complaint:

“The figure depicted was an adult who did not have exaggerated features, was wearing a simple shirt, and was not a recognisable or well-known character. The colors were muted rather than bright and were not reminiscent of dolls or action figures that were typically marketed towards children. We considered that the ‘action figure’ depicted was unlikely to be viewed by children as an appealing toy to play with.”

ASA Intervenes in Cases Against Big Operators in the UK

However, this does not mean that ASA is prone to leniency. The media watchdog has developed a sound reputation for intervening in cases of suspected breaking of the rules. ASA has not been past targeting high-profile websites over their use of advertisements.

Recently, the regulator ruled against an ad by score prediction platform LEBOM, and it has also moved against others over the past several weeks and months, including LiveScoreBet, PokerStars, and Ladbrokes.