William Hill Adverts Banned
Two press advertisements and one poster, all of which were used to advertise a free bet promotion from the William Hill sports betting organisation, have been banned in their current form by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). All three items were advertising “£100 OF FREE BETS!”, but one person (yet again, there’s always one) complained that the advertisements were misleading because the stake wasn’t returned to the person betting along with any winnings. And, alarmingly, the ASA upheld this complaint!
Let us explain exactly why we think that this complaint is ridiculous: If we offered to give you a free bet – let’s say we were to bet £10 on a the outcome of the England versus Ukraine match – and your selected outcome won at 2/1, you would rightly expect to make a £20 profit. However, if you’re sensible then you wouldn’t also expect us to hand over the £10 that was originally staked because a free bet only means that you don’t have to stake a penny of your own money. (By the way, don't forget that you can watch England versus Ukraine for free!)
Yet that’s exactly what the complainant expected, and the ASA decided that because this fact wasn’t stated directly in the advertisements themselves (although it was pointed out in the terms and conditions, which readers were referred to) then the current ads can’t be used again.
If a sports betting organisation ever did promise to give the no-risk stake to the bettor in addition to the profits, they would soon stop offering free bet bonuses altogether. And why do we say that? Simply because people would start using the free bet money to bet on outcomes that have incredibly short odds. They might, for example, bet on the world number one tennis player to win his first round match against an obscure opponent at odds of 1/20. Such a bet is very likely to be successful, and although it would only produce a 50p profit for a £10 bet, that wouldn’t matter if the £10 free bet was also returned to the bettor.
Another point that the ASA made was that the £100 OF FREE BETS was actually given to bettors in stages, with an initial free bet of £50 and five smaller free bets of £10 each. Again, we think that this is perfectly acceptable when one understands – as surely any bettor with half a brain would understand – that free bets are offered by gambling companies to encourage new customers to sign up. They are not in the business of handing out wads of cash just for the inherent fun of the activity.
All of the advertisements released by William Hill referred the reader to further Terms and Conditions, where all of this was made very clear to anyone who could be bothered to read them. Unfortunately, the ASA has deemed that this was not enough, and that bettors need everything spelled out to them in black and white (in large print, perhaps?) on the advertisement itself.
We think that this is not only going way over the top, but that it is an insult to the vast majority of gambling enthusiasts who really are intelligent and savvy enough to look into such things for themselves.
William Hill sportsbook is currently offering a slew of bonuses for both new and existing members, so if you’d like to take a look at what’s on offer (and maybe give the bird to the ASA in the process, although that’s optional) visit William Hill today.
Article Published: 26/05/2010 15:06:22
