Их Британийн Зар сурталчилгааны стандартын газар (ASA) хиймэл оюун ухаанаар бүтээсэн дүрийг ашигласан Midnite аппликейшний сурталчилгааг хориглож, харин HLTV.org сайтад байршуулсан мөрийтэй тоглоомын сурталчилгааг зөвшөөрөв.
Dribble Media компанийн Midnite аппликейшнийг сурталчилсан TikTok бичлэгт 25-аас доош насны харагдах хиймэл оюун ухааны дүр ашигласан нь тогтоогджээ. Зар сурталчилгааны дүрэмд зааснаар 25-аас доош насны хүн эсвэл тийм дүр төрхтэй хүн мөрийтэй тоглоомын сурталчилгаанд оролцохыг хориглодог. Уг сурталчилгааг захиалсан Limay Media агентлаг нь тухайн дүр хиймэл оюун ухаанаар бүтээгдсэн болохыг хүлээн зөвшөөрсөн ч ASA уг шийдвэрийг өөрчлөөгүй байна.
Үүнтэй зэрэгцэн ASA-аас Counter-Strike 2-ын гол төв болох HLTV.org сайтад байршуулсан Casimba болон The Grand Ivy Casino-гийн сурталчилгааг шалгаж, ямар нэгэн зөрчилгүй гэж үзлээ. Тус байгууллага нь HLTV.org сайтын агуулга нь насанд хүрэгчдэд чиглэсэн гэж үзсэн тул дээрх сурталчилгааг үргэлжлүүлэн байршуулахыг зөвшөөрөв.
Энэхүү хоёр тохиолдол нь esports салбарт мөрийтэй тоглоомын сурталчилгаа байршуулахдаа зөвхөн контентын агуулга бус, харин дэлгэц дээр харагдаж буй дүр төрх нь насанд хүрсэн хүний шинжийг бүрэн агуулсан байх ёстойг харуулж байна. Midnite-ийн хувьд энэ нь тус компанид холбогдох гурав дахь удаагийн зөрчлийн шийдвэр боллоо.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
If you’ve ever scrolled past a slick TikTok gambling ad and thought “wait, how old is this guy supposed to be,” the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority just proved your instincts sharper than an entire affiliate marketing pipeline. The regulator ruled against Dribble Media Ltd, trading as online casino app Midnite, after a paid TikTok ad featured an AI-generated character who appeared to be under 25 while pitching a World Cup betting offer: bet £10 on a match, get £30 in free bets.
The ruling landed the same day the ASA cleared a case that will ring a bell for competitive gaming fans specifically: display ads for White Hat Gaming’s Casimba and The Grand Ivy Casino brands, both of which ran on HLTV.org, the Counter-Strike 2 hub half the CS scene has bookmarked. One case got banned, one got waved through, and the split says a lot about where the ASA actually draws the line between gambling marketing chasing minors and gambling marketing that just happens to sit next to esports content.
An Affiliate, an AI, and an Unauthorised Ad
The ASA’s ruling concerned a clip posted to TikTok in July showing a young-looking man using the Midnite app, paired with a voiceover pushing the World Cup free-bets offer. Dribble Media, which is Gibraltar-based, said it hadn’t authorised the ad, pointed to branding discrepancies, and confirmed the clip was actually created and pushed out by an affiliate, Limay Media Ltd. Midnite has since terminated its contract with Limay and says it will reinforce compliance reminders across its partner network.
Under CAP Code rule 16.3, anyone who was, or seemed to be, under 25 cannot be shown gambling or playing a significant role in a gambling ad. That rule doesn’t care whether the person in the frame is real.
The Prompt Never Said “Make Him Look 30”
Limay Media told the ASA the character was an AI-generated fictional figure, not a real person, and that its prompt never explicitly required an age of 25 or over, even though the intent was to depict an adult. The agency admitted its internal approval process wasn’t followed, called it an isolated error, and said the ad was pulled within a few hours. It’s since added age-specific prompts and a manual check of how old generated characters appear before anything ships.
None of that saved the ad. The ASA found the character’s youthful facial features, casual styling and excited demeanour made him look like he was in his late teens or early twenties, and ruled his age simply hadn’t been credibly verified. Both Dribble Media and Limay Media have been told the ad cannot reappear in that form. It’s Midnite’s third ASA ruling this year, following an earlier campaign, hit with 125 complaints, that suggested gambling was an escape from personal problems.
Same Day, HLTV.org Passes the Test
The separate White Hat Gaming ruling examined two banner ads for Casimba and The Grand Ivy Casino, both advertising a 100% match bonus up to £100 on first deposit and both carrying the mandatory 18+ logo, that had run on HLTV.org. The ASA concluded the ads didn’t breach CAP Code rules 16.1 or 16.3.13, finding that HLTV’s content and presentation clearly targeted an adult audience, and took no further action.
Put the two rulings side by side and the takeaway for anyone watching gambling ads bump up against esports coverage is straightforward: sitting next to competitive gaming content isn’t the problem, and neither is being generated by AI instead of hired talent. What gets an ad banned is a figure on screen that looks like it belongs in a college dorm rather than a sportsbook, regardless of whether that figure was ever a real person to begin with.
