Betfair rapped over misleading advert

Betfair has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a “misleading” TV ad it broadcast in late October.

The advert featured a man at a football match reading a message on his mobile which stated ‘Man Utd Win 3-1 You Win ?120.00’, with an onscreen message saying that new customers could get 4/1 on Liverpool to beat Rubin Kazan.

Another message at the bottom of the screen said ‘?10 max stake on stated bet, winnings paid in cash, enhanced winnings paid in free bets within 24 hours, multiple bets excluded’.

A customer claimed the ad was misleading because it did not make clear that enhanced bet winnings would be paid in the form of free bets. The complaint was upheld by the ASA, which agreed that the overall impression of the ad suggested enhanced winnings would be paid in cash.

“We considered that the nature of the offer was not adequately explained in the ad and because it was not made clear that the enhanced odds would be paid in free bets, we concluded that the ad was misleading,” the ASA ruling said.

The watchdog also ruled the ad must not be broadcast again in its current form and told Betfair to ensure that future ads made it clear if enhanced odds were to be paid in free bets.

In response to the customer complaint, Betfair said the message at the bottom of the screen clarified the nature of the payout and the ad included “all the material information about the promotion”.