Unibet free bets ads "misleading", ASA rules

Unibet has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over three “misleading” free bet adverts it ran on Facebook and Google.

The adverts were promoting a sign-up offer for new players, with Unibet offering to “cover the risk” of their first bet up to the value of £20.

Text in the first Facebook post said: “Will Man City beat Liverpool? Join Unibet for a £20 Risk Free Bet on today’s game! Manchester City v Liverpool £20 Risk Free Bet.”

A second Facebook post offered the same sign-up bonus for the Sunderland v Manchester United game, while a sponsored Google search also stated: “Unibet £20 Risk Free Bet”.

The ASA received three complaints, with complainants having understood they were required to place further bets at specified odds in order to withdraw funds, and they would receive a refund of the stake as a bonus if the bet was lost.

The complainants challenged whether the claim “risk free bet” was misleading and whether the ads made conditions of the bonus clear.

In its response, Unibet said that “risk free bet” was a term commonly used in the gambling industry for similar bonuses, and the nature of the offer was explained in “clear and easily comprehensible language” in their bonus terms and conditions.

Unibet also stated the intended meaning of the phrase “we will cover the risk of your first bet up to £20” was that if the customer lost the first bet, the stake would be returned for further turnover and therefore this would be considered “risk free”.

The operator said the Facebook ads included a link to the Unibet registration page where the terms and conditions of the bonus, including the turnover requirement, were made clear.

It also said it was “unclear” why complainants found the Facebook ads misleading given they were “clearly aware of, and understood” the turnover requirements.

Regarding the Google ad, Unibet said it had linked to their general terms and conditions instead of the bonus terms and conditions in error, and offered to include “T&C apply, +18, www.gambleaware.co.uk” on all three ads.

In its ruling the ASA said it was “not misleading” to call the bet “risk free” on the basis that the stake from the first bet placed would be returned to the customer in the form of a bonus, if they had lost the first bet.

But the turnover requirements, and the possibility punters could lose their entire bonus funds during the process, would “contradict consumer’s understanding” of risk free and was therefore misleading.

The ASA also noted that the landing page linked to from the Facebook ads was an account registration page, meaning the T&Cs were more than one click away.

Regarding the Google ad, the watchdog said Unibet “did not specify that terms and conditions would be applicable to the offer” and also noted that the T&Cs were “three clicks away”.

The ASA said the ads most not appear again in their current form and told Unibet to ensure they did not use the claim “risk free bet” to describe this bonus offer in future ads , which should “make clear all significant conditions of the offer”.