ASA Adjudication on Hillside (New Media) Ltd

Ad

A banner ad for a betting website, which appeared on three successive screens, stated "bet365 JOIN NOW ... £200 FREE BETS FOR NEW CUSTOMERS ... NO1 FOR SPORTS".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the ad was misleading because:

1. it did not make clear that new customers could only claim £200 in free bets if they staked a significant amount of their own money first; and

2. it did not make clear that free bet participants could only withdraw winnings if a number of conditions were met first.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. & 2. Bet356 Group Ltd (Bet365) said that market research conducted by the industry had shown that UK customers were comfortable with "free bet" terminology and that they understood that such offers were subject to terms and conditions and qualifications. They explained that many of their competitors used the same or very similar terminology and provided screenshots of other online gambling providers websites which referred to "free bets" .

They argued that banner ads were limited by space and believed that, for the purposes of the CAP Code, a "marketing communication" in this context should be interpreted as meaning a banner ad which was supplemented by separate terms and conditions. They said the nature of the banner ad meant that a limited amount of information could be captured on it but, in any event, consumers were unable to sign up to the "free bets" offer without first having the opportunity to view the relevant terms and conditions. They said they had taken steps to make sure this information was clearly available to consumers.

Assessment

1. & 2 Upheld

The ASA noted the terms and conditions on the Bet365 website stated that the "free bet" would match the amount of the new customers first deposit provided that deposit was between £10 and £200. We therefore understood that, in order to receive the £200 of free bets referred to in the ad, new customers were required to deposit £200 of their own money. We also understood that the terms and conditions required new customers to bet their initial deposit and matching free bet amounts on three separate occasions before they could then withdraw any cash winnings that had been awarded to their accounts during this process. Furthermore, we noted all of these bets needed to be made within 90 days or any winnings that were in the account would be forfeited.

We acknowledged that some experienced gamblers were likely to be familiar with the "free bets" terminology and would expect terms and conditions to apply to the offer. However, we noted the ad targeted new customers and considered that, although the ad appeared on a gambling website, there was nothing to prevent inexperienced or new gamblers who were not familiar with the terminology from visiting the site and wanting to take part in the offer.

We considered that the terms and conditions attached to the "free bets" were significant and were likely to affect a consumers decision about whether to sign up to Bet365; we noted the banner ad did not state that terms and conditions applied. Furthermore, although we understood the terms and conditions themselves were available on the website for all customers, we noted this information was not signposted in the banner ad itself and was not available until after the landing page. We considered that, in order to be displayed sufficiently clearly, significant conditions likely to affect a consumers decision to participate in the promotion should have been displayed in the banner ad itself or no further than one click-through away from it. We also considered that the banner should have signposted that terms and conditions applied. We concluded that, because the terms and conditions of the "free bet" offer were not displayed with sufficient prominence, the ad was likely to mislead.

On these points the ad breached CAP Code clauses 7.1, 7.2 (Truthfulness) and 34.1a (Sales promotion rules - how to participate).

Action

The ad should not appear again in its current form. We told Bet365 to ensure that terms and conditions for "free bet" offers were only one-click from banner ads in the future.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)