Bet365 has had an ad banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for a second time, despite amending it in light of a previous adjudication by the UK regulator.
The online banner ad with the legend “£200 free bets for new customers. Join Now ” was amended to include an extra label stating that “terms and conditions apply”. Players clicking on the ad were taken to a landing page, where there was a hyperlink to T&C’s. Players clicking on this were informed they would qualify for £200 of free bets only by depositing £200, and that they had to play through their deposit and bonus at least three times before withdrawing.
A complainant challenged that the ad was misleading because it did not make sufficiently clear the level of financial commitment required to receive the £200 in free bets, or the wagering requirements.
The Stoke-headquartered operator said they had, taking into account the limitations on space in the banner ad, taken steps since the ASA’s last ruling to ensure T&Cs were communicated to players in compliance with UK ad rules.
The ASA however decided that the conditions contained within the T&Cs were likely to affect a consumer’s decision on whether to sign up, and that these should not have been more than one click away from the banner ad itself.
The UK ad regulator therefore concluded the ad was misleading and must not appear again in its current form.
Malta-licensed Spin Palace also had an ad on its website for a “£1000 FREE …1st deposit - 100% Match Bonus” banned for not including a signficant condition - that players would be unable to withdraw until they had placed bets 40 times the value of their welcome bonus - in the body of the ad itself.
Article written by Katy Stirland
