The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has sanctioned Paddy Power for broadcasting a radio ad that was found to be misleading.
Flutter Entertainment-owned Paddy Power ran the ad in December of 2021 outlining a free bet offer related to the company’s ‘Bet Builder’ product. As with all ads of this nature a voiceover at the end stipulated the terms and conditions of the offer. These included minimum odds of 1/5 per leg, a minimum of four legs, an exclusion of enhanced match odds, and a maximum free bet of £10 per day.
However, the ASA received a complaint that that these terms and conditions were relayed too quickly and at too low a volume. According to the complainant, they were unable to understand what was being said.
While Paddy Power claimed that the terms had not been sped up in post production and that the volume had not been adjusted, the ASA upheld the complaint. Its investigation into the matter concluded that the wording of the terms and conditions and their delivery were confusing and would not have been easily understood by the majority of listeners.
As a result, the ASA warned Paddy Power about the company’s future conduct and prohibiting the use of the terms and conditions again in their current format.
In a statement, the ASA said:
“We considered that information about the offer applying to selected online bets was material information that consumers required in order to make an informed decision. These therefore must be presented to listeners in a clear and intelligible manner.
Because those conditions had not been presented in a clear and intelligible manner, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.