The Advertising Standards Authority published a ruling against Ladbrokes after investigating two issues. The ruling was made over an advert which promoted the brand’s casino and was sent via e-mail on April 21th.
According to the text read in the ad, players who deposited £35 would get £5, the ones who deposited £60 would be granted with £10, and the ones who placed a bet of £100 would get £20. The e-mail promotion also read that this “winning combination” was especially intended for Table Club players, and included a set of Terms and Conditions down in the ad. The Terms in question also included a x5 wagering requirement for players in order for them to become eligible for getting the Deposit Bonus.
First, the Advertising Standards Authority challenged whether the e-mail promotion was misleading to customers, as it required them to wager the bonus and deposit amount at least five times to get the Deposit Bonus. On the other hand, one person filed a complaint that they participated in the offer, but was later informed that they had surpassed a 30% bonus bet limit, which was why they could not get the Deposit Bonus. The complainant claimed that the advert was misleading because it did not clarify there was a 30% bonus bet limit at all.
UK-based Ladbrokes responded to the accusations, saying that the wagering requirement was not an issue raised by the complainant. In addition, the company explained that wagering requirement was not uncommon for the average casino customer, which was why the latter was not considered likely to be misled by the ad.
When it comes to the other accusation, Ladbrokes explained that the promotion’s terms and conditions had been reviewed by the company’s promotions team. The latter’s members agreed that the 30% maximum free bet stake would be equally prominent as the wagering requirements set on other promotional offers. The company also engaged to make amendments to its promotions sent via e-mail in the future.
Both accusations, however, were upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority. The organisation welcomed the willingness of the company to make positive changes in its advertising in the upcoming promotions, but it found that Ladbrokes failed in indicating any other applicable terms or restrictions associated with the wagering requirements. This was exactly why the ASA decided that the e-mail ad could be misleading to customers on the terms of redeeming the Deposit Bonus.
As a whole, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the ad did not make the Bonus wagering requirement of the promotion sufficiently clear, so it concluded that the advert was misleading and breached CAP Code rules 8.17 and 8.17.1 regarding the Significant conditions for promotions.
As a result, the ASA said that the advert must not be released in its current form any more. In addition, the organisation reminded Ladbrokes to make sure that all the significant conditions of such promotions are included in any future ads in order not to mislead consumers.
- Author
Daniel Williams
