The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today issued a ruling regarding a tweet from the Essex County Cricket club Twitter/X account which promoted NFTs for FanCraze Technologies.

Four issues were investigated, all of which were Upheld.

A tweet from the Essex County Cricket club Twitter/X account which promoted NFTs for FanCraze Technologies, posted on 30 May 2023, stated “Unveiling a new way of fandom with @OxFanCraze! Supporters can now collect, trade and play cricket strategy games with licensed player cards of their favourites to win cash rewards & never seen before fan experiences!”

A link to the FanCraze website was included in the post. The post also included an image of cricketers. Text on the image stated “Essex is taking fandom to the next level!” and “www.fancraze.com”.

The ASA challenged whether the ad:

1. was obviously identifiable as a marketing communication; and

2. did not make clear which cryptowallet a prospective buyer would need in order to receive a token, and which blockchain the tokens operated on, and was therefore misleading.

One complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because:

3. it did not make clear that it was referring to an investment product or that gas fees applied; and

4. it failed to illustrate the risk of the investment.

Essex County Cricket Club said they had a partnership with FanCraze in which they promoted their digital collectibles (NFTs). They acknowledged the tweet was advertising and apologised for failing to disclose it as such, as required by the CAP Code. They confirmed they had deleted the post in question and stated they would ensure all future ads complied with the Code.

FanCraze Technologies Inc. also confirmed they had a commercial relationship with Essex County Cricket Club and acknowledged the tweet should have been correctly labelled as advertising. They stated they would conduct comprehensive training sessions for their staff and partners involved in advertising and social media activities.

ASA found that the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 2.1 and 2.4 (Recognition of marketing communications).

Also, because the ad did not make consumers aware that a FanCraze wallet was required to purchase the NFTs, and that they existed on a blockchain, ASA concluded that the ad was misleading. The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), and 3.9 (Qualification).

Further, because the ad did not include any risk warning making consumers aware that they were liable to pay a gas fee, and that it was referring to an investment product, ASA concluded that the ad was misleading. On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Qualification) and 14.4 (Financial products).

Finally, because the ad did not make consumers aware that NFTs were an unregulated cryptoasset and that the value of NFTs could go down as well as up, ASA concluded that the ad was misleading.

On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Qualification) and 14.4 (Financial products).

The ad must not appear again in its current form. ASA told FanCraze Technologies Inc. and Essex County Cricket Club to ensure that their future ads were obviously identifiable as marketing communications. The Authority also told FanCraze to ensure their advertising made clear the risks of NFTs by stating that they were an unregulated cryptoasset which required a cryptowallet and that their value could go down as well as up and included all material information regarding fees and the limitations of owning NFTs on a proprietary system.