Coral Interactive earns double reprimand from the ASA

l Interactive has found itself in hot water after complaints to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concerning two separate promotions for free bets were upheld.

Both promotions were sent out in June, to capitalise on Euro 2016.

Three customers complained after taking up the first promotion, which offered players that bet £/€20 on any team to win Euro 2016 a free £/€10 every time a British team scored in the opening round of matches.

The three received the promotional email, placing their bets only to be informed that they were ineligible to participate in the offer, and challenged whether the promotion misleadingly implied the offer was open to all recipients.

Coral Interactive explained to the ASA that the email containing the promotion was intended only for selected customers eligible to receive free bets, and in error was also sent to customers unable to take advantage of the promotion.

Although Coral Interactive sent a follow up email apologising to affected customers, the ASA upheld the complaint, considering that "anyone receiving the email would expect they could take advantage of the free bet offer”, and that “customers had been caused unnecessary disappointment”.

In the second case, two complaints were made, relating to an email and pop-up ad on Coral Interactive’s website both seen on 15 June.

The email and ad promoted £/€10 free bets for customers who bet £/€10 on a losing correct score selection.

Both complainants noted that customers were only eligible for the free bet if the initial wager was placed after 8pm, which Coral Interactive included in the terms and conditions, but the operator acknowledged an error in not including that information in the main body of the ads.

The ASA upheld the complaints, welcoming “Coral Interactive’s willingness to ensure that future time-sensitive promotions included all significant conditions”.

In both of these two cases, the ASA said that the ads must not appear again in their current forms, informing Coral Interactive that it must ensure future promotional advertising does not “misleadingly imply that an offer was open to everyone”, and that it must make clear the “significant conditions" of its promotions.