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- UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the promotion of crypto-based fan tokens, done by Arsenal Football club on its website & Facebook page.
- Arsenal stated as the tokens were not being promoted as an investment vehicle, nor did it encourage trading.
- ASA calls to make sure that ads aren’t misleading, undermining the risks associated with cryptocurrencies.
The value of blockchains remains in its tokens of exclusivity, either in the form of cryptocurrencies or NFTs. While many celebrities & artists have begun trading their tokens on various exchanges, The football fraternity doesn’t seem to be left behind. However, recently the advertisement regulator in the UK imposed a ban on Arsenal’s promotion of fan tokens.
Recently, The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) banned the crypto-based fan token promoted by the Arsenal Football Club on its website & Facebook page for not complying with the rules & regulations of the watchdog.
The Football Club partnered with a creator of fan token-based platform, Socious, to provide customers with a digital platform where users could interact with each other & collect tokens. However, the catch here was those tokens were supposed to be purchased through Chillz price (CHZ) cryptocurrency to redeem the same for voting, conversational & other purposes resulting in the ban of the advertisements.
The watchdog, ASA, further stated & ruled over that future Arsenal ads must not downplay investments in crypto assets or irresponsibly take advantage of users’ lack of awareness or knowledge that capital gains tax could be due on profiting from cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, it has also been ordered to clarify that such spectrum is unregulated & disclose complete information that ordinance tokens are supposed to be purchased through cryptocurrencies.
While the investigation was in process, a spokesperson from The Arsenal Football Club expressed their perspective & mentioned that fan tokens were not being promoted as investment vehicles and should solely be looked at for entertainment purposes only.
On the ruling, the Arsenal spokesperson mentioned, the club will venture into compliance with ASA’s guidance regarding future communications in this pacing era of cryptos. However, the club will be seeking an independent review of the ruling to understand ASA’s current position.
A senior investment & market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Susannah Streeter, asked the fans to be careful before investing in such assets as they are complex & highly volatile while also mentioning NFTs as modern-day trading cards that seem to be a fresh revenue source for all the football clubs. Lastly, the ASA also stated that its ruling will follow proactive monitoring as a part of the larger objective to draft specific guidance around advertising such products in 2022.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
