Betfred ticks off ASA

News on 19 Jun 2013

Petfre Ltd t/a Betfred has been censured by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for an e-mail promoting its betfred.com website.

The e-mail in question was headlined “Risk free in-play offer & doubled and trebled odds on Champions League action”. Further text in the body of the ad said: “Get a risk-free in-play bet from Fred – why bet anywhere else?  Hi, Grab a risk free £10 in-play bet on tonight’s massive game at Old Trafford! If you don’t win we’ll refund your first in-play bet up to a tenner….”.

Two complainants challenged whether the ad was misleading as it did not make clear that the “risk free £10 in-play bet” offer was paid as a £10 free bet and not cash; and secondly that it did not make clear that customers who went on to bet and win with that “free bet” would not have that stake returned.

Despite Betfred defending its position, saying the link to the terms and conditions contained the relevant information, the ASA upheld the complaints saying the ad breached Cap Code rules pertaining to misleading advertising, qualifications and sales promotions.

Betfred was reminded by the ASA to ensure that significant conditions were included in the body of future e-mail promotions and ruled that the existing ad may not appear again in its current form.

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