Betfred latest gambling firm to fall foul of ASA

The latest company to run into hassles with the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority is the Gibraltar-based Petfre Limited, trading as Betfred. In recent months increasing numbers of savvy players in the UK have been challenging online gambling adverts.
A player complained to the ASA that the company’s television advert was misleading, because it failed to include a condition that the first bet must have odds that are evens or greater to receive the free bet.
The advertisement featured Betfred co-founder Fred Done, in which he said: “I’ll give you great odds and fantastic bonuses. Why? It’s my fun and I love it. I’ll even match your first bet up to GBP50. Watch my lips, a free bet up to GBP50, if you sign up today”.
On-screen text stated “Open online account, place GBP5 min bet, get free bet to same value, GBP50 max. T & C’s apply, selected games. Free bet stake not included in returns”.
The gambling company said the term was fairly standard in the industry, and it provided evidence from other online bookmakers in support of this. Betfred also noted that customers must agree to the terms and conditions before opening an online account, and that the ‘odds’ term was included to prevent people taking advantage of the offer by placing bets with very short odds.
The ASA noted that the requirement for odds to be evens or greater was a common one in the industry for free/matched bet offers. The adjudicator considered that viewers would understand from the on-screen text that terms and conditions applied.
However, it was also considered that the requirement for odds to be evens or greater was a significant condition likely to affect a viewer’s decision to take advantage of the offer, and should therefore have been included in the ad. Because it was not, the ad was misleading and must not again appear in its present form.

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