Ad description

Two email ads, for casino websites run by Apollo Entertainment Ltd:

a. The first email stated "We haven't managed to reach you, %%firstname%%" in the Subject line. Text in the body of the email stated "This offer provided by Casino Rewards … PLAYERS PALACE CASINO  Congratulations! ... You have been selected as this week's winner! You can receive your £2000 FREE right now! Important Message! If your name appears below you have just won £2000 Free the winner is [name of recipient]". Text which stated "Collect your £2000 FREE now!" linked to a website from which recipients could download casino software. Small text at the bottom of the email stated "* For new players only  Terms & conditions may apply".

b.  The second email stated "[recipient's name], confirm receipt to claim" in the Subject line. Text in the body of the email stated "This offer provided by Casino Rewards … UK CASINO CLUB  Golden Ticket  CONGRATULATIONS  £700 FREE  Click Here to Claim Now". Underneath, a table referred to the recipient as a "Winner", and stated "Amount Won  £700", "Available Fund  £700" and "Delivery Time  Available Now". Text which stated "Click Here to Claim Now" linked to a website from which recipients could download casino software. Small text at the bottom of the email stated "* For new players only  Terms & conditions may apply".

Issue

Two complainants challenged whether the claims in the ads that recipients had won "[£X] FREE" were misleading and could be substantiated.

Response

Apollo Entertainment Ltd, trading as Casino Rewards, Players Palace Casino, and UK Casino Club, responding initially in relation to ad (a), acknowledged the ad may be misleading to some recipients and said the ad had been withdrawn. After further internal investigation, they said both ads had been sent because one of their affiliates was using an automated mailing system which was thought to have been decommissioned in 2009. Apollo Entertainment said that the emails sent by the system were out of date and not correct. They said they had made efforts to ensure their affiliates were no longer using that system and were instead making use of the new and updated system.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted both ads referred to the recipient as a "winner", stated that they had won a specific sum of money "FREE", and that they could "claim" or "collect" that money by following the links in the ad. Both ads included small print which stated "Terms & conditions may apply", but did not include any details as to what those conditions were or where recipients could find that information. We considered recipients would understand from the ads that they had won the referenced sum of money and could receive it by clicking through from the ads.

Clicking through from the ads took recipients to web pages which reiterated that they had won "FREE" money and encouraged them to "Redeem your £[X] and start Playing!" by downloading casino software and creating an account. Both those web pages also stated "Terms & conditions may apply", but did not provide details or inform recipients where that information could be obtained.

Whilst Apollo Entertainment did not provide us with any details of the terms and conditions to the offers, we understood from both complainants that one condition was that the "FREE" money would not be made available until recipients created an account and had deposited money. We considered that was a significant condition to the offers of "FREE" money and understood that it was likely there were also other significant restrictions to the offers. We noted that it was possible for consumers to sign up to the offers without being made aware of any terms and conditions. Because significant conditions, which were likely to influence consumers' understanding of the offers, were omitted from the ads, we concluded the ads were misleading.

The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules  3.1 3.1 Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.  and  3.3 3.3 Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
 (Misleading advertising),  3.7 3.7 Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation.  (Substantiation) and  3.9 3.9 Marketing communications must state significant limitations and qualifications. Qualifications may clarify but must not contradict the claims that they qualify.  (Qualification).

Action

The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told Apollo Entertainment Ltd to ensure their ads did not claim that recipients had won free sums of money. We told them to ensure that future ads made clear significant conditions to offers, such as a requirement to make a deposit.

CAP Code (Edition 12)

3.1     3.3     3.7     3.9    


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