Ad description
A paid-for Instagram ad for Gecko Play, a gambling website, seen on 1 February 2026 featured a scene of a stand-up comedian preforming a set on stage.
They said, “Gambling is really like eating pistachios, if you get a good pistachio, you want another good one, if you get a bad one, you want a good one even more” and received a laugh from the audience.
The bottom of the video contained the Gamble Aware logo and an 18+ sign, next to text which stated, “Gambling can be addictive please play responsibly” and #AD in the bottom right-hand corner.
Issue
Two complainants challenged whether the ad encouraged gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible.
Response
Skill On Net Ltd t/a Gecko Play said the analogy between gambling and eating pistachios was intended as light-hearted, observational humour regarding the variability and unpredictability of outcomes. It was not intended to encourage persistent gambling, nor to suggest that individuals should continue gambling in order to recover their losses.
They said it did not refer to financial loss, increasing stakes, risk-free gambling nor excessive participation.
However, they accepted that the overall impression could be interpreted differently and that the ad could be seen as breaching the CAP Code.
They said they had removed the ad and had updated internal marketing guidance following notification of this complaint.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications or ads for gambling must not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm. CAP’s Advertising Guidance on ‘Gambling Advertising: responsibility and problem gambling’ stated that marketers should take care to avoid trivialising gambling and avoid the impression that the decision to gamble should be taken lightly, for example by not encouraging repetitive participation.
The ASA considered that the statement “gambling is really like eating pistachios, if you get a good pistachio, you want another good one, if you get a bad one, you want a good one even more” would likely be understood by consumers to mean that gambling was compulsive and hard to stop. Further, we considered that the reference to wanting a “good one even more” following a “bad one” was likely to be understood to be an implied reference to making further bets to secure a win after a loss when gambling.
We also considered that the use of a stand-up comedy routine, and the audience laughter that followed, presented the message in a light-hearted way. In that context, we considered the ad trivialised repeated gambling, including gambling again after a loss, rather than encouraging consumers to treat gambling decisions with appropriate caution. Although the ad included the small print “18+”, “Gambling can be addictive please play responsibly” and the GambleAware logo, we did not consider that these elements altered the overall impression of the ad, which made light of continued gambling following both wins and losses.
We therefore considered the ad gave the impression that the decision to gamble, even in the face of losses, should be taken lightly and that it encouraged or condoned repetitive or frequent participation in gambling, including after losses. For that reason, we concluded that the ad was likely to encourage gambling behaviour that was harmful and therefore breached the Code.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 16.1, 16.3 and 16.3.1 (Gambling).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Skill On Net Ltd t/a Gecko Play to ensure that their future ads did not portray, condone or encourage gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm. For example, their ads should not trivialise gambling or encourage frequent and repetitive participation.
