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Bulletin: 19/4
Batch: 256
Reference: 32965
Product: Leisure - Betting
Advertiser: Boyle Sports
Agency:
Medium: Online - Company Website
ASAI Code 7th Edition: 2.4(c), 5.4, 5.5, 5.15(c), 5.16
A banner Advertisement on the Boylesports website promoted an offer for new customers.
"New Customer Exclusive
Bet £10 Get £20
AS A FREE BET
Join Now"To the right of the above text was the World Cup 2018 Logo - "Russia '18"
Small text underneath stated: "18+ Min odds Evs. First bet only. Free bets expire in 7 days. Payment method restrictions. T&C's apply."
The complainant viewed the offer and checked the terms and conditions, noting that no expiry date had been given in the terms and conditions. The complainant signed up and placed a bet of £10. After checking his account the next day he noted that he had only received a free bet of £5, not the advertised £20. He made enquiries with the advertisers and was advised that the promotion had ended as it was a promotion for the World Cup only which had since ended. As the promotion had ended the advertisers had automatically given him a different offer of a free £5 bet. As the promotion was still being advertised after the promotion had ended, the complainant considered that the advertising was misleading.
The advertisers advised that human error had occurred which caused the promotional landing page to remain in place after the promotional period had ended. They confirmed that the page had since been removed. They have advised that since this error was brought to their attention they have commenced a process of reviewing all historic acquisition promotional landing pages and have recently changed their processes to ensure that all such promotions have an expiry date applied when they are created. The advertisers also stated that they were contacted by the customer and within 24 hours of that contact, they had paid out the free bet offer in full, and notified the customer that their query had been settled.
Complaint Upheld
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response. The Committee noted that the advertising had included the logo for the World Cup that had been held in Russia in 2018 which they considered would have provided some indication to consumers that the promotion was in connection with the World Cup. The Committee accepted that the promotion had continued to be advertised in error and they welcomed the actions taken by the advertisers in order to prevent future similar errors occurring. Nevertheless, the advertisement had not included details of the duration of the promotion or a closing date and as it had continued to be advertised after the promotion had ended, the Committee considered that the advertisement was in breach of Sections 5.4, 5.5, 5.15 (c) and 5.16 of the Code.
ACTION REQUIRED:
As the advertisement had been removed, no further action was required in this case.