Just a few months ago, on June 23rd to be exact, William Hill launched an online advertisement. The following promotional statement appeared on their site: “BET £10 GET £20 FREE CREDITED AS 2 X £10 BETS PROMO CODE: F20 EU REFERENDUM BETTING NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY *Wagering and Terms Apply.” Over three months later, the statement is still being talked about due to the belief that it promotes a “misleading” free bet offer.
The offer has continued to receive much backlash since it went live, particularly from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which believes it to be a case of false advertising. The problem stems from the fact that the bet had to be wagered on something with odds over 1.5, an important detail which failed to appear in the main portion of the ad.
In an effort to defend itself, William Hill claimed that full details for the offer were listed at the bottom of the page, in small print. They further commented that the main body of the promotion offered too little space to include the detail under scrutiny, providing a reason for its inclusion only in small print at the bottom of the page.
The ASA was not pleased with the response from William Hill, however, claiming that the lack of information was significant enough that its lack of inclusion in the main body was “likely to affect a customers’ understanding of the offer.”
The UK bookmaker has been warned not to promote this ad in its initial state in the future, and to be sure to include all key, qualifying details in the main body.
Source:
Phillips, Lewis. “William Hill warned over Brexit free bet promo” egrmagazine.com. May 10, 2016.