Sports, leisure and hobbies

Helpful information on the advertising rules activities, products or services related to sports and leisure

Ads for activities, products or services related to sports and leisure must follow the general advertising rules – they must not harm, offend or mislead.

Although there are no specific rules for ads in this sector we commonly see complaints about misleading advertising on secondary ticket websites, problems with unofficial endorsements and advertisers not sticking to age-restricted products rules.

We’ve undertaken extensive work to ensure consumers are not misled when they are trying to book tickets for their favourite sport or leisure activity and as a result are not left out of pocket. Secondary ticket websites enable individuals or businesses to re-sell tickets they have bought for sports, music or other events and are often a major source of complaints to us.

We’ve taken action to bring more of these kinds of websites in to line with the advertising rules and ensure they are not displaying misleading price information. Websites such as these must ensure: quoted prices for tickets are inclusive of VAT; any additional charges not included in the ticket price are listed; and the face value of the ticket, which may be different from the price the ticket is being sold at, is visible in the ad.

Under the rules, official sponsors of sporting tournaments and events are allowed to refer to their sponsorship deal in their advertising, but other advertisers should take care not to imply there is an official affiliation when there isn’t. As always, the overall impression of an ad will be taken into account when we make our decisions, so any images, icons and symbols will contribute to our assessment of how consumers are likely to interpret an ad. General references to a tournament or event, or general messages of support for a team, are likely to be considered acceptable, provided they do not imply official sponsorship.

During major sporting events, ads for alcohol and gambling are common place. When preparing their ads, advertisers should always remember that players, or supporters, who are, or appear to be, under the age of 25 must not play a significant role in gambling or alcohol ads or they’ll be handed a red card by the ASA. The only exception is if in gambling ads the sportsperson depicted is the subject of the bet being offered and the ad appears where a bet can be placed directly through a transactional facility.

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Latest rulings

Sky UK Ltd
- Not Upheld
- Television
- 07 February 2018
A TV ad for Sky TV, broadcast on 23 September 2017, promoted the Sky Sports Premier League channel. The ad stated, "New Sky Sports is here. So now all our existing and new Sky TV customers can get our brand new channel dedicated to the Premier League, and watch all the unmissable drama from 126 live games. Upgr...
Fayong Hu t/a Greenpromocode.com
- Upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 31 January 2018
A website, www.greenpromocode.com, which purported to offer online discounts, seen on 17 October 2017, featured the headline "Nutmeg Promo Codes 2017." Text stated "We have 3 nutmeg coupons for you to consider including 0 promo codes and 2 deals in October 2017. Grab a free nutmeg.com coupons [sic] an...
Groupon Goods Global GmbH
- Upheld
- E-mail
- 24 January 2018
A product page on www.groupon.co.uk, promoting an offer on toilet rolls, seen on 5 October 2017 featured text that stated, “60x Rolls of Cusheen Quilted Lavender Toilet Paper Difference 64% £33.31 [strikethrough price] £11.99 …”.
Since Being Single Ltd
- Upheld
- Internet (sales promotion)
- 24 January 2018
The dating website www.sincebeingsingle.com, seen on 12 September 2017, featured an offer for the “Premium Package” which stated “TRANSFORM YOUR GAME 1-DAY WORKSHOP…+5 Bonuses Worth Over £5,000 OFFER PRICE £497”. The price of £1497 was crossed out. A second offer for the “Core Package” stated “TRANSFORM YOUR GAME 1-...

View all rulings

Sports, leisure and hobbies

Helpful information on the advertising rules activities, products or services related to sports and leisure

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