The Advertising Standards Authority has ordered the Health Lottery not to repeat a TV commercial promoting its Wednesday draw after viewers complained it ridiculed non-players and exploited the vulnerable.

The Health Lottery television adverts ran in January and featured a variety of different characters announcing ‘I’m a loser’. The characters referred to purchases they would have made if they had won the Health Lottery’s new Wednesday draw, which was launched late last year.

But 15 viewers complained to the ASA that the ad was irresponsible, with the majority claiming that it “disparaged abstention” from lottery playing. Some of the viewers also complained that the ad – which also featured a man screaming the word ‘loser’ into the camera – could exploit vulnerable people.

While Clearcast had ruled that the ad, with its clear comedic treatment of the characters, could stand, the ASA has agreed with complaining viewers that the ad was irresponsible and ruled that it must not appear again in its current form.

Responding to the ASA judgement, a Health Lottery spokeswoman said: “We are sorry that the ASA has upheld this adjudication, and of course we accept its judgement. The advertisement was intended as a light-hearted and comedic way to promote the new ‘Win Wednesday’ midweek draw, which players now love. There was never any intention for the humour to be misunderstood.”