Online gambling operator Kindred Group’s ads for its female-focused Maria Casino brand have been found to be misleading by Sweden’s Advertising Ombudsman.

In a decision dated May 26, Sweden’s Reklamombudsmannen (RO) ad watchdog upheld a complaint brought against a 20-second television commercial for Kindred’s Maria Casino brand for claiming to be “Sweden’s most popular gaming site.”

The ad referenced Maria increasing its payout rate to customers from 96% to 98%, which allegedly helped make the Maria site so popular. But when the complainant queried Maria’s customer service as to the source of its ‘most popular’ claim, the reps reportedly cited only “some reviews on their website.”  

In response to the complaint, Kindred cited a survey of 1,660 customers conducted by researchers Nepa AB in the first three months of 2020 that showed Maria leading all rivals in the choice of online casino sites with 12.4%, nearly double the 6.3% of its closest rival Mr Green (a William Hill brand).