On 8 May 2024, the Advertising Standards Authority (the “ASA”) issued a ruling against ProgressPlay Ltd t/a JeffBet for featuring a misleading promotional offer on their website that implied eligibility for all new JeffBet customers.
The Advertisement
In November 2023, the JeffBet website featured a “BET £10 AND GET £30 FREE BET” promotion on its homepage. The terms and conditions stated in small print that the offer was for “New Players Only” and included a link to the full terms and conditions.
The complainant, who was not eligible for the promotion despite being a new JeffBet customer, challenged whether the ad was misleading. Under the full terms and conditions, the promotional offer applied only to new customers of the ProgressPlay network, rather than new customers of JeffBet itself.
ProgressPlay’s Response:
ProgressPlay responded that they ensured their advertising included as much detail as possible with regards to the terms and conditions so that consumers could make an informed decision about whether or not to participate.
They claimed there was not enough space to highlight the promotional offer was only available to those who were new to the ProgressPlay network. Instead, they included information in the terms and conditions which could be found when clicking the “Full Terms Apply” text within the ad. The ninth point of the promotional terms and conditions stated, “Any player can receive up to 1 (one) sport welcome bonus on the ProgressPlay Network”.
JeffBet highlighted that further down the page consumers could find the additional “JeffBet Terms and Conditions”, which detailed the definition of ProgressPlay Network”. A further link was provided which listed all ProgressPlay’s related brands.
The Ruling:
The ASA upheld the ruling as the betting ad, as seen on the JeffBet website, misleadingly stated that the promotional offer was open to “New Players Only”. The ASA pointed out that consumers would understand from the text, and the context in which it was seen, that only those who did not already have a JeffBet account would be eligible to redeem the promotional offer. The ASA also pointed out that the “New Players Only” text in small print would be interpreted by consumers as the full term or condition of the promotion, reinforcing the impression that all new JeffBet customers were eligible for the betting promotion.
The ASA noted that as the betting ad was placed on the JeffBet website, ProgressPlay were not constrained by any space or functionality requirements. It was held there was ample space to state any information that would be material to consumers in relation to the eligibility of the offer. For example, the ad should have explicitly stated that ProgressPlay owned a number of gambling websites, including JeffBet, and that if someone was already a customer with one of their other gambling sites, then they would not be eligible to participate in the offer.
The ASA also pointed out that consumers were unlikely to understand the term “ProgressPlay Network”. It was held that ProgressPlay should have considered, at a minimum, providing a prominent and accessible link where consumers could find a list of all ProgressPlay-owned gambling sites.
The ASA concluded that the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 8.17, 8.17.1, 8.17.7 (Promotional marketing). ProgressPlay were told that the ad must not appear again in its current form.
Comment:
This ASA ruling highlights the importance of ensuring that material conditions are not omitted from promotional offers. Conditions that define the eligibility for the promotion would be significant to consumers when making a decision to sign up to the offer, and therefore it should be predominantly displayed.
Co-authored by Jade Anya, Trainee Solicitor
