ASA confirms Geoff Banks in breach of advertising code
The ruling pertains to the advertisement of a £10 free bet on the Scottish Grand National in April 2024.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld that an advertisement for a £10 ($13.03) free bet on the Scottish Grand National, released by bookmaker Geoff Banks Online breached CAP Code pertaining to promotional bets on account of a lack of clarity.
The case complainant claimed they were unable to redeem the promotion in question, which stated: “FOR THE MISSUS: Place a bet on the Aintree Grand National and get a free £10 bet on the Scottish Grand National”.
“Geoff Banks will award a £10 free bet for use on the Scottish Grand National if you wager on the Aintree Grand National. Minimum Qualifying Wage is £10 win or £5 each way. Qualifying wager can win or lose. Bets placed prior to 3pm on Saturday 13th April qualify for this offer. Previous Free bet stakes awarded do not count as qualifying wagers. Free bet will be credited to your account by Saturday 20th of April.”
In the opinion of the ASA, the advertisement did not adhere to the CAP code, which states that promotions must underline any applicable significant information or conditions which, should they not be included, would mislead the customer.
The ASA has concluded that to qualify for the offer, a player would receive – and then had to reply to – a text message from Geoff Banks Online. It also concluded that the customer had to do so by 5pm on 19 April 2024.
However, the conditions pertaining to the text and the timeframe are not detailed as part of the advertisement. Geoff Banks, however, did send a follow-up email to recipients of the offer – but the email also failed to detail the previously specified parameters. Thus, the omittance of key information.
GB Sports Advisors argues that it believed all parameters were made clear in the terms of the original advertisement, and that other entrants had followed the entry criteria and had no issue redeeming the promotional bet.
In May, the ASA also upheld its ruling against Festival Free Bets and Social Media Influencer Astrid Wett.
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