The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the advertisement for a £10 (13.03 USD) free bet at the Scottish Grand National by Geoff Banks Online violated CAP regulations for promotional betting because it lacked clarity.
Complainants claimed they were unable to redeem the promotion in question, which stated: "Place a bet at Aintree Grand National and get a free £10 bet for the Scottish Grand National."
"If you bet at the Aintree Grand National, Geoff Banks will reward you with a £10 free bet to use at the Scottish Grand National. The minimum qualifying bet is a £10 win or £5 each way. Qualifying bets may win or lose. Bets placed before 3 PM on Saturday, April 13 are eligible for this offer. Previous free bets do not count toward qualifying bets. The free bet will be credited to your account before Saturday, April 20."
ASA considered that the advertisement failed to comply with CAP standards, which stipulate that promotions must highlight any applicable significant information or conditions and that omission of such information or conditions leads to misleading customers.
ASA concluded that to avail of the offer, players must receive a text message from Geoff Banks Online, which they must then respond to. It was also concluded that customers must reply to the text by 5 PM on April 19, 2024.
However, the advertisement did not clearly state the conditions related to the text and time frame. However, Geoff Banks did send a follow-up email to the recipients of the offer—but that email also did not detail the previously specified parameters. Thus, key information was omitted.
GB Sports Advisors argued that they believed all parameters were clearly stated in the original advertisement terms, and that other participants adhered to the competition standards and encountered no issues when redeeming the promotional bets.
