The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a voucher promotion in William Hill betting shops encouraged irresponsible gambling.
The case surrounds a voucher printed from a gaming machine earlier this year in April, which told the recipient: “You’ve won a £5 cash match on any game! Redeemable between 03/04/2025 – 03/04/2025 from 05:20pm – 11:59pm in any venue.”
The complaint raised the question of whether or not the limited redemption period was socially irresponsible. The voucher was printed at 11:51am but couldn’t be redeemed until more than five hours later, creating concerns that customers would either stay in the shop or return the same day to claim it.
The operator argued that the promotion didn’t breach the CAP code and said vouchers were only printed to customers who had staked £50 or more before 5:20pm – which they didn’t believe to be excessive compared to average machine spend.
William Hill called the promotion a one-off, low-value reward and emphasised that the terms were clearly displayed both in-store and on the voucher itself.
The company also highlighted redemption data that revealed customers waited at least three hours before using the voucher, suggesting they had left the shop rather than stayed and continued to play.
William Hill cited staff training, time-and-spend prompts on machines and optional deposit limits as safeguards against harm.
The ASA didn’t agree though and ultimately ruled that the promotion’s structure created an incentive for repeated play within a short time period. The regulator said the same-day redemption meant “most participants could only benefit if they returned to the premises or stayed until the later start time.”
The assessment also noted players may already have placed several bets in order to qualify as the £50 threshold could include recycled winnings. It was concluded that the terms “incentivised behaviours that could encourage irresponsible use” and breached CAP Code rule 8.5, which states that promotions are not socially undesirable.
William Hill was made to withdraw the promotion in its current form and ensure future campaigns do not encourage irresponsible gambling.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
