William Hill found to have breached advertising code
Two ârisk freeâ promotions run in December were misleading, says UK ad watchdog
Two of William Hillâs promotions have been found to be in breach of the UKâs advertising code for misleading customers over the risk-free nature of the offers.
The promos, which were seen on 11 December and 25 December, offered slots customers depositing £5 and £10 or more respectively a risk-free spin if their initial gamble didnât pay off.
A complaint from a customer said the first offer was misleading because when they played the game they were unable to obtain the £5 refund without staking additional funds.
A complaint regarding the second promotion said the player was refused a refund on the basis that they had only staked £9.80 of their own money and the 80p which they âwonâ during the game and subsequently lost, did not count as their own money.
Both complaints were upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which said the ads must not appear again in the form complained of.
âWe told William Hill to ensure that terms and conditions were clearly worded and unambiguous, so that consumers would understand how the promotion worked and what amounts would be refunded,â the ASA said.
âWe also told them not to describe promotions as ârisk freeâ if the mechanic of the relevant game meant that it was not possible in all cases to stake the required amount and receive a refund without a customer staking some additional money of their own.â
William Hillâs response to the ASA said the terms and conditions of the first promotion clearly referenced the minimum and maximum amounts that would be refunded in the event that the customer did not win on the game.
It said this information, together with the game rules should have made the minimum spin amount obvious to the customer.
On the second complaint William Hill said that the promotion was relatively self-explanatory, in that the funds were ârisk-freeâ.
If a customer played the game and did not win, their losses would be returned, William Hill said, noting that the only caveat was that the minimum and maximum amount that would be refunded was £10.