Published
Legal & RegulatorySports BettingIndustry

William Hill falls foul of ASA over promotion

William Hill has been hit with its second regulatory issue in two weeks following a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concerning one of its television adverts.

williamhillasa

The advert, first aired in September 2017, featured a voice-over that stated: “Get a 15% free bet bonus on your winnings with ‘2 Clear’ from William Hill, 30% of flat races last season were won by two lengths or more.

“Bet on any live ITV flat race and if your horse wins by 2 lengths or more you’ll get a 15% free bet bonus on your winnings. Introducing ‘2 Clear’ from William Hill. Available on all live ITV flat races. Online, on mobile and in our shops.” 

At the same time, the words “free bet bonus” and “Live ITV Flat Races” flashed on screen when referenced in the voice-over, while at the bottom of the screen, small text stated “Selected UK flat races. 6+ runners ….”

The complain received by the ASA challenged whether the condition that the promotion applied to horse races which had at least six runners was made sufficiently clear in the advertisement.

In its defence, William Hill said they had reviewed the promotion and considered consumers would have been well informed of the requirements and the key terms of the promotion which were clearly highlighted in the advertisement, allowing consumers to make an informed choice about whether to proceed with the offer.

However, the ASA considered that consumers would likely interpret the voice over claims: “Bet on any live ITV flat race” and “Introducing ‘2 Clear’ from William Hill available on all live ITV flat races” to mean they could get the free bet bonus when they bet on any televised flat race due to the language being used. 

The ASA stated: “We considered that this was a significant qualification that should have been prominently included in the main body of the ad and that it was not sufficiently clear for it to be presented in the small text at the bottom of the screen.”

Upholding the complaint, the ASA have ruled that the advertisement cannot appear again in its current form and must be removed by William Hill immediately.

Premium+ Connections
Premium

Lynon

 
Premium

Sport Generate

 
Premium

PIN-UP Partners

 
Premium

Imagine Live

 
Premium

Revsharks

 
Premium

Galaxsys

 
Premium

RISK

 
Premium

1xBet Partners

 
Premium

GammaStack

 
 
Premium

Digitain

 
Premium Connections
Consultancy

SCCG Management

Executive Profiles
Zeal Network SE

Stefan Tweraser

VIP Play

Les Ottolenghi

Scientific Games

Keshav Pitani

Social & App

Spribe CEO exclusive: Simplicity is the foundation

Spribe CEO David Natroshvili speaks to Gambling Insider abou...

Redefining iGaming: A history of crash games

Crash games is a growing vertical that has taken gambling by...

A certain something: What makes crash games special?

Crash games. They’re simple, they’re easy to learn and,...

Smarter innovation to shape the future

Spribe CCO Giorgi Tsutskiridze discusses the past, present a...

Facing Facts: The corner of quarterly contemplation

With Q1 reports out across the industry, Gambling Insider co...

Taking Stock: A guide to key stock prices across the industry

Gambling Insider tracks prices from some of the industry’s...

15 years of Gambling Insider: From the Founders

Over the last 15 years, Gambling Insider magazine has interv...

15 years of Gambling Insider: The Awards over time

Global Gaming Awards Event Manager Mariya Savova gives us he...