The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a British regulatory body, is clamping down on incompliant crypto ads and has banned advertisements by Arsenal promoting its fan token.
After Arsenal collaborated with blockchain firm Chiliz and launched AFC a fan token, ASA ruled two ads posted in August on Arsenal’s website and on Facebook were “misleading”.
They were allegedly violating its advertising standards as they did not make clear the risk of trading crypto, the potential tax implications that comes with it. They did not even highlight tokens that are not regulated in Britain.
The agency stated that the post did not highlight the risks involved in the investment.
In another instance, a page published on Aug. 6, 2021, on Arsenal’s official website with the title “$AFC Fan Token: Everything you need to know” was also reportedly violating advertising rules.
The ASA ruled that the Facebook ads (posted on 6th August and 12th August), Facebook post and a page on the Arsenal’s official website took advantage of fans’ inexperience and “trivialised” investment in cryptoassets.
The ASA also alleged that these ads were misleading because it did not make clear that the “token” was a cryptoasset.
Recently, ASA had banned seven crypto ads, stating that they must not appear again and said crypto-assets are ‘red alert.’
Arsenal’s response
Arsenal responded to allegations related to fan tokens saying that they are used for encouraging fan participation, and were “materially different” to cryptocurrencies which were virtual currencies used for transactional purposes.
Arsenal also said that they reminded customers: “We advise you to spend only what you can afford and seek independent financial advice if required,” according to the verdict.
The club argued that the tokens were promoted responsibly, and that Socios was well reputed in the footballing community as a cryptocurrency platform as a sponsor and a partner with a number of European football clubs.
The football club also requested an independent review of the ASA’s ruling which was also welcomed by Socios as well.
However after the ASA ruling, the Arsenal Supporters Trust (AST) tweeted: “If you are Arsenal fan be extremely cautious of Socios. You don’t need it to engage with Arsenal and you have a high chance of losing your money.”
