These advertisements include paid search ads on Bing and the login page on the William Hill website, which were found to be misleading due to the omission or insufficient prominence of important information.
The crux of the issue is that certain payment methods, including Apple Pay, are excluded from the £60 ($77) welcome bonus offer. The ASA considers this a significant condition that could affect consumers' understanding of how to participate in the promotion.
In the Bing search ads, no information about the excluded payment methods was provided. Although the ads do link to a webpage containing more details, the ASA ruled that all marketing communications must state important conditions, otherwise the omission could mislead consumers.
The website login page contains fine print mentioning "applicable payment methods and country/region restrictions," but the ASA believes this is not sufficient. Specific exclusion terms are listed under "Key Terms" at the bottom of the page, but the ASA also considers this not prominent enough given their importance.
William Hill argued that the space limitations of search ads make it reasonable to omit some conditions, and that the website's structure is designed to provide information progressively.
Nevertheless, the Advertising Standards Authority still upheld the ruling, stating that these advertisements violate multiple provisions in the CAP Code, including those related to misleading advertising and significant conditions of promotions.
Therefore, the ASA has instructed William Hill to ensure that all important terms are prominently displayed in future marketing communications to avoid misleading consumers, and that the involved advertisements must not appear again in their current form.
