ASA pulls Midnite’s Built Different ads

• The Advertising Standards Authority has banned two TV ads, two video-on-demand (VOD) ads and a radio ad for Midnite after upholding 125 complaints across the campaign.
• The regulator found all five ads suggested gambling could act as an escape from everyday frustrations, breaching BCAP and CAP Code rules on social responsibility.
• The campaign, created by 72andSunny Amsterdam, launched 24 April 2026 under the Built Different tagline.

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a set of Midnite adverts after ruling they suggested gambling could relieve stress, breaching gambling advertising codes.

The regulator upheld 125 complaints against the campaign, which comprised two TV ads, two video-on-demand (VOD) ads and a radio ad airing between April and May 2026. Dribble Media, which trades as Midnite, must not run the ads again in their current form.

Frustration builds through ads

The ads showed people encountering everyday technology failures. One depicted a man struggling with a supermarket scanner, hotel lighting, a vending machine and finally his “grandad’s bookie” app, each mishap narrated by a robotic voice-over. A second ad followed a woman having trouble with a key card, an office tap, a gym locker fob and a casino app. Both ads showed visibly pulsating veins on the characters’ heads as the frustrations mounted.

Each spot closed with the line “we can’t fix the rest, but our betting app is actually pretty good,” followed by the jingle “Midnite, built different.” A radio ad followed the same format, referencing failures such as a “smart TV” and “QR code login,” before promoting a sign-up offer of 100 free spins for a £20 wager.

The 125 complaints, upheld across all five executions, argued the ads portrayed gambling as an escape from personal problems and encouraged behaviour that could cause financial, social or emotional harm.

Midnite defends concept

Midnite told the ASA the campaign was built around the contrast between minor technological inconveniences and the reliability of its own app, rather than presenting gambling as a response to stress.

The operator said the characters wore different outfits in each scene to show the frustrations were separate, unconnected occasions, and that the pulsing vein was a comedic device rather than a depiction of genuine distress.

Midnite added that neither character was shown using the Midnite app itself, and that the malfunctioning rival gambling apps shown in the ads were included only as further examples of poor technology. The operator said it had run an extensive compliance process before launch and had revised its scripts in response to feedback from Clearcast and Radiocentre.

Clearcast, which cleared the two TV ads, said the characters were shown calm before attempting to gamble and that the line “we can’t fix the rest” made clear Midnite was not presented as a fix for the earlier frustrations. Radiocentre offered a similar defence of the radio spot, arguing it simply contrasted faulty technology with a service that worked.

The ASA disagreed. It found the repeated run of failures created a clear build-up of annoyance and a cumulative sense of stress, and that the closing reference to the app was likely to be understood as offering relief from that stress rather than as a straightforward product claim.

The regulator concluded the juxtaposition implied using the app was a way to move on from, or forget about, the frustrations shown.

Third finding against Midnite

All five ads were found to suggest gambling could provide an escape from problems. The two TV ads breached BCAP Code rules 17.3.1 and 17.3.2. The corresponding VOD versions breached CAP Code rules 16.3.1 and 16.3.3, and the radio ad also breached the BCAP rules.

All five executions must not appear again in the form complained of, and the ASA told Midnite to ensure future ads do not suggest gambling is an escape from personal problems.

This marks the third ASA finding against Midnite in less than a year. The regulator previously banned an AI-generated Midnite video featuring footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold for its appeal to under-18s, and separately upheld a complaint over a Midnite social post involving Son Heung-Min.

The ban lands amid wider ASA scrutiny of gambling marketing’s appeal to young audiences, a push that has also seen the regulator rule against Oddschecker ads featuring Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, ban gambling ads from Betway and Kwiff on similar grounds, and expand its AI-powered monitoring of gambling ads on social media.

The banned campaign itself was Midnite’s first UK-wide brand push, developed with 72andSunny Amsterdam and launched on 24 April 2026 to position the challenger operator against category conventions.

The decision adds to a growing list of ASA interventions on gambling advertising’s emotional messaging, rather than just its choice of talent or targeting. Operators running comedic or lifestyle-led campaigns will likely face closer scrutiny of tone, not just casting, as the regulator tests where relatable frustration ends and an implied gambling cue begins.