This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.
The following is an update on the ASA's ruling on a promotion produced by Betway Limited.
The advertisement
The Betway website included a promotion stating "Football Betting Offer £30 Free Bet … Bet Now” and containing the following five terms at the bottom of the ad: "**Key Terms 1) New Customers Only. 2) Min deposit £10+ required. 3) Maximum Free Bet Amount is £30. 4) Free Bet will be unlocked after original deposit is staked. 5) Additional Terms apply”.
In practice, the offer was for a matched bet of between £10 and £30 depending on the customer's deposit. Customers could only obtain a free bet of £30 if they deposited the same amount.
The full Ts&Cs of the ad specified this but a complainant challenged whether the ad itself made this clear enough. In its response, Betway accepted that the complaint had merit.
The ASA's ruling
The ASA ruled against Betway and considered that the ad was missing significant material information. Without this information, the ad implied that the offer was for a fixed free bet amount of £30 and thus the ad was in breach of CAP Code provisions 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 8.17 and 8.17.1 (Significant conditions for promotions).
Please find the full report of the ruling here.
