Coral online gaming accused of misleading advertising

The online betting operations of the Coral UK gambling group are currently under fire following player
complaints that misleading bets advertised on its website had prejudiced players, but that the company had refused to approve refunds of deposits.

Reporting on the row, the publication Information Age recounted that the incidents concern confusion over bets on the number of yellow cards issued in football matches, where points are awarded.

Punters claim that when they sought to revoke their bets, the company refused to do so, even though the match in question had not commenced.

Coral eventually amended the website copy, but that was too late for the aggrieved gamblers.

Approached for comment by Information Age, a Coral spokesman said that an enquiry was in progress to assess the situation. He said it was not yet clear whether the issue was caused by an IT glitch or if it was simply an oversight.

“Clearly ‘points’ should be displayed – there’s no question that would make sense to the market,” the
spokesman said. “It’s a niche market and the punters who bet in it will probably know it’s a points market, but that’s not to say it shouldn’t have had it clearly displayed.”

“We’re looking into why the bet wasn’t presented properly and we will seek to rectify it. It is an issue that the right information is not being communicated.”

Coral needs to address the issue quickly; the incident is likely to attract the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority or the Gambling Commission.

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