Gambling operator Coral has been hit—again—with advertising bans from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Aside from Coral, Titanbet and Bgo Entertainment also found themselves on the receiving end of the UK advertisement watchdog’s scolding after customers complained about their promotions that run over the summer.
The dispute related to Coral stemmed from a newspaper ad that the gambling operator ran in June, which read: “England to beat Russia was 10/11 now 50/1. Winning paid in cash.”
It was followed with a smaller print at the bottom of the ad, stating, “New customer offer… If your selection wins, you will be paid in cash based on the normal price on site and will have your account topped up to reflect the enhanced price in free bets. If your bet loses, a £5 free bet will be credited to your account within 24 hours of settlement. Free bet stake not returned.”
One customer, however, complained that the ad didn’t clarify that the offer lasted only for one hour from 8am to 9am. Another customer said the promotion, which suggested winnings would all be paid in cash, was misleading.
ASA upheld both complaints and ordered Coral to make sure the ad doesn’t appear in its current form.
“We told Coral Interactive (Gibraltar) Ltd to ensure that their future promotions included relevant applicable significant conditions where their omission was likely to mislead and that qualifications clarified, rather than contradicted, their headline claims,” the watchdog said in its ruling.
Meanwhile, Titanbet received a scolding over an email that offers a risk free bet. A customer said the email didn’t clarify that the offer is qualified only if the bet was placed on an event that finished in the next four days.
Online casino Bgo was the last operator to be hit by an ASA ruling. According to the watchdog, one of Bgo’s TV ads glamorized gambling by showing a man surrounded by casino chips and young women.
“We considered that the overall impression of the ad was that the man’s wealth was derived from his gambling wins, which viewers could also achieve. We therefore concluded that the ad suggested that gambling could be a way to achieve financial security, which was a breach of the Code,” ASA said.
LeoVegas, on the other hand, managed to escape sanctions for its TV ad that showed, among other things, the words “Gone to Vegas” written in the sand. A customer called the ad “socially irresponsible” since it portrayed gambling as taking priority in life, but the ASA did not uphold the complaint.
“We understood that the setting of the ad, a day at the beach, would not generally be considered as an everyday or typical occurrence and in this context, the man was shown to be gambling during his free time and not at home or within the workplace. We therefore considered the ad did not portray gambling as taking priority in life or over any other commitments. We concluded that the ad was not irresponsible and did not breach the Code,” ASA said in its ruling.
