Ad description
A website, www.betstars.uk, for a gambling operator seen on 25 June 2016 featured a banner on an account holder’s home page with text that stated, "Money back up to £/$/€10 if your first spin and bet loses. Bet now ...".
Issue
The complainant, who placed a losing bet, challenged whether the claim was misleading because it failed to make clear that stakes placed on losing bets were returned to players in the form of free bets.
Response
Rational Entertainment Enterprises Ltd t/a BetStars said that the promotion was available from 1 June until 10 July and that the applicable terms and conditions stated that the ‘money back’ was in the form of a free bet. They also stated that players who clicked on the banner ad to take advantage of the offer would have been directed to the applicable terms and conditions.
BetStars said that due to an error, which occurred because of the size constraints of the particular banner link used, the ad complained about did not include text which explained that the ‘money back’ would be in the form of a free bet. Moving forward, they said that they would be changing their advertising for future promotions to ensure it included relevant terms and conditions that applied to those promotions.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered consumers were likely to interpret the claim “Money back up to £/$/€10 if your first spin and bet loses” to mean that if they placed a bet of up to £10, they would receive their original stake back in actual cash. However, we understood that this was not the case because instead, consumers received a free bet of the same value as their original stake.
We acknowledged that the terms and conditions stated that ‘money back’ was in the form of a free bet, but considered that it was a significant term that was likely to affect consumers’ understanding of the offer. Therefore, we considered that it should have been included in the ad itself and concluded that its omission was likely to mislead consumers.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 8.2 8.2 Promoters must conduct their promotions equitably, promptly and efficiently and be seen to deal fairly and honourably with participants and potential participants. Promoters must avoid causing unnecessary disappointment. (Sales promotions) and 8.17 8.17 All marketing communications or other material referring to promotions must communicate all applicable significant conditions or information where the omission of such conditions or information is likely to mislead. Significant conditions or information may, depending on the circumstances, include: (Significant conditions for sales promotions).
Action
We welcomed Rational Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s willingness to ensure that their future promotions included relevant applicable significant terms and conditions where their omission was likely to mislead.
