Betting tipster in trouble with advertising authority

Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has supported a personal complaint by Lord David Lipsey, vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Betting and Gaming against Wakefirled-based online betting tipster Winningeasy.com regarding its media advertising claims.

Two issues were investigated, both of which were upheld, relating to claims of success and profit made by the tipster, which Lord Lipsey challenged. Lord Lipsey said that the profit claims implied that subscribers to the tipster’s services would be successful.

In its response, Winningeasy defended its claims, submitting that it believed the ad made clear that the profit claim of GBP 53,782.00 was based on bets in a specific period. They also believed the ad made clear that the profit figure was based on GBP 200 bets made at level stakes. They said all bets were proofed to the Racing Post.

The tipster also claimed that its profit figures were accurate, and said they offered no guarantee of success. They therefore believed the ad did not imply that subscribers were very likely or certain to turn a profit.

In its assessment the ASA upheld both complaints, finding that the tipster’s claims were misleading.

“Because we considered the ad placed excessive emphasis on profits and winning and made inadequate reference to the possibility of tipping losers or of losing money, we concluded that the ad misleadingly and irresponsibly implied customers were very likely or certain to achieve a profit,” the Authority found, ruling that the advertisement must not appear again in its present form.

The ASA concluded: “We told winningseasy.com not to make profit claims for their service, unless they could demonstrate that that level of profit was achievable by their customers based on their tips. We also told winningseasy.com not to imply consumers were very likely or certain to achieve a profit in future.”

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