Pizza Hut Casino Gambling Promotion Draws Criticism

Pizza Hut’s operations in the United Kingdom have drawn criticism for offering customers free online casino play with their purchases. Those looking for a couple pepperoni pies were also greeted with the offer of “up to 300 free spins at your favorite casino.”

The promotion went on to note: “No deposit required! Claim your spins today!”

The campaign has drawn disapproval from anti-gambling advocates and some politicians as the country seeks to combat gambling addiction.

“The recklessness of this Pizza Hut promotion is staggering – offering hundreds of free spins on highly addictive casino games while not knowing if those people may be in recovery from an addiction is not just careless, it’s dangerous,” said anti-gambling campaigner Annie Ashton, whose husband committed suicide after succumbing to gambling addiction.

“Free spins can quickly lead to addiction to anyone spinning so many times. Pizza Hut needs to end this promotion as soon as possible before any lives are lost.”

Marketing Agreement Gone Wrong?

Member of parliament and former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith was also critical of the promotion of casino gaming.

“This Pizza Hut promotion shows why the government needs to introduce tougher regulation of gambling advertising and marketing,” he noted on Twitter. “It’s not even possible to order a pizza without online casino products being pushed on to people.”

The promotion was part of an advertising campaign with the online gaming company Digital Adventures. A spokesman with the company said a third-party advertising company was to blame for the ads showing up on the pizza chain’s website.

“These placements are controlled by an external programmatic network that has built-in 18+ age protection capabilities,” the representative told The Guardian. “The advert in question was live for a short period at the end of November before being proactively removed on 28 November and it has not been live since.”

The controversy comes as the country’s new Labour government has been considering cracking down on the online gaming industry. That has included possibly limiting stakes on online slots and additional taxes.

A new law is also expected to go into effect in 2025 that limits maximum stakes for online gaming to £5, and £2 for those under 25.