UK advertising watchdog slams Arsenal over misleading crypto ads

abdelaziz Fathi

The UK advertising watchdog has reprimanded Arsenal Football Club for promoting crypto assets without warning fans of the potential associated risks.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) banned cryptocurrency ads promoting Arsenal’s fan token and said they must not appear again. The agency labeled two promotions of Arsenal’s $AFC for irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience and for failing to illustrate the risk of crypto investments.

Specifically, the ASA ruled that a content on Arsenal’s official website posted with the title ‘$AFC Fan Token: Everything you need to know’ misled customers over the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.

“We told Arsenal Football Club to ensure that they made sufficiently clear that the value of investments in paid-for fan tokens was variable and as crypto assets they were unregulated,” the ASA said in the ruling.

The second breach, according to the watchdog, focused on a Facebook post on the club’s official page. It reads: ‘$AFC is now live’ and asked fans: “What song do you want to hear when we win? Download the Socios app to get your token and vote”.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) argued that these contents “trivialized” a “serious and potentially costly financial decision.”

The ASA acknowledged that the ads did not promote the fan tokens as an investment or financial product. However, it said the product was a cryptoasset regardless of how it was promoted, and the ads did not contain any information that capital gains tax could be payable on profits from investing in cryptoassets.

Manchester City was the first to launch a Fan Token

“Therefore, because the ads trivialised investment in cryptoassets and took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity by not making clear that CGT could be payable on profits from investing, we concluded the ads were irresponsible and breached the Code,” it concluded.

An Arsenal spokesman said they would seek an independent review of the ruling, adding that the club had provided information on the financial risks.

The North London club was the second Premier League club to sign up with blockchain provider Chiliz to offer crypto fan tokens on the Socios.com app. Manchester City was the first Premier League club to announce they would launch a Fan Token on the Chiliz platform in March.

Sports fan tokens are utility tokens that provide users of a blockchain platform with exclusive access to voting rights, VIP rewards, AR features, superfan recognition, and promotions.

The price of sports fan tokens is not necessarily tied to the team’s match results or performance. Rather, the digital assets are often dependent on the overall utility of the tokens and the demand for them from crypto investors or fans.

Read this next

Retail FX

Banxso announces 8.7% interest rate on deposits in South Africa

“With Banxso, they can enjoy the benefits of both worlds – earning competitive interest and having the freedom to trade, all within the same platform.”

Industry News

FINRA to publish transaction details in U.S. Treasury securities

“Consistent with our longstanding practice, FINRA is introducing greater transparency in a calibrated and careful manner, benefiting liquidity and resilience in this critical market while also mitigating potential information leakage concerns.”

Institutional FX

OpenYield launches “cheap and easy” fixed income trading for brokers

“We’re on a mission to make bonds cheap and easy to trade, and are excited about the opportunity to build generational capital markets infrastructure.”

Digital Assets

Sumsub and Mercuryo publish a guide for VASPs: “Mastering Travel Rule Compliance”

“At Sumsub, we’ve concentrated our efforts on filling the gap in understanding the complexity of Travel Rule regulation and helping organizations find the best solution to stay safe and compliant while minimizing costs and avoiding potential risks of non-compliance. This guide we created with Mercuryo, our trusted partner, is the ultimate navigation tool all VASPs can consult.”

Digital Assets

Bitget Wallet Leads with Record Swap Volume & New Crypto Innovations

This week, Bitget Wallet achieved a milestone by surpassing Metamask with a record 388,757 Swap order transactions, securing the global lead. The significant 7-day trading volume, almost 68,000 more than its rival, underscores its liquidity and user trust. This robust activity signals Bitget Wallet’s prominent role and reliability in the dynamic crypto market.

Digital Assets

Embarking on a Digital Currency Journey

Imagine you’ve stumbled upon a treasure map, leading you to untold riches hidden in the vastness of the internet. Instead of gold coins and jewel-encrusted goblets, this treasure comes in the form of digital currencies, the modern-day loot coveted by many.

Reviews

Traders Union Experts Share The Trading Analyst Review For 2024

Navigating options trading in rapidly shifting markets poses a considerable challenge. This is where options trading alert services become invaluable. They aid traders in keeping abreast of evolving opportunities and market trends. In this assessment, Traders Union experts scrutinize The Trading Analyst alert service to ascertain its efficacy. 

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Achieves $9.9M: Aiming For A 5000-Fold ROI As Cardano’s Price Rises And Fantom Launches Sonic

Explore Cardano’s surge, Sonic’s efficiency, and why BlockDAG’s growth makes it the top crypto choice. A deep dive into the future of blockchain investments.

Digital Assets

US, UK probe $20 billion Tether transfers tied to Russian exchange.

U.S. and UK authorities are investigating the movement of $20 billion in the USD-pegged stablecoin tether (USDT) through Moscow-based exchange Garantex.

<