SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The ASA has had its latest wrangling with the betting industry, with Betfred the focus of its attention this time around.
Following two complaints from members of the public the advertising standards authority investigated an email promotion the bookmaker sent out to new customers over email during the European Championships this summer.
Two specific issues were investigated, though only one of these was upheld.
For the complaint which was not upheld, which was to do with a deal which read ‘Bet £10, Get £30’ the ASA replied that whilst they “considered that this condition contradicted how the offer in the email itself would be interpreted and was likely to confuse consumers” other details specific to the case of the complainant led them to making their final decision.
The ASA statement read: “We therefore considered Betfred had provided adequate evidence showing that the promotion did not just apply to cumulative bets and therefore was not misleading.”
Regarding the complaint that was upheld however, the ASA stated “because of the omission of such a significant condition and the misleading impression given by the ad, we concluded that the promotion was misleading.”
The ASA noted that the email offer for new customers was not clear enough in terms of showing the full terms and conditions, namely that it was only for their first bet.
Te finalised course of action was to warn the company about its future actions with the ASA release stating: “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Petfre (Gibraltar) Ltd t/a Betfred to ensure that their future offers included relevant applicable significant conditions where their omission was likely to mislead.”
