Ladbrokes has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for a misleading advert published on its news microsite during Euro 2016, in relation to the Group B game between England and Wales.
The online promotion stated you could get ‘Get 6/1 for England to beat Wales OR Get 12/1 for Wales to beat England’, with a maximum £10 stake, which would be returned as a free bet if it was a losing selection. However, a complaint which has been upheld by the ASA, said the ad was misleading because it failed to state that part of the winnings would be paid as free bets.
Ladbrokes said that this was included in the terms and conditions, but acknowledged it should have been stated in the advert itself, and that the team responsible for content on the microsite had been asked to ensure that significant terms and conditions were included in any similar, future promotions.
The terms and conditions, which stated that ‘the extra winnings will be paid in free bet tokens, in £/€ or currency equivalent’, were considered likely to affect the consumers’ understanding of the offer. Therefore, the advert was in breach of CAP Code rule 8.17, which covers significant conditions for promotional marketing, and must not appear again in its current form.
