Gambling advertising: free bets and bonuses once more in regulators’ cross hairs

This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.

In an address to the Responsible Gambling Trust’s “harm minimisation” conference on 9 December 2015, the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) stressed failings in the industry’s marketing of free bets and bonuses. The ASA has claimed that at the core of these failings is the use of misleading offers, or the omission of significant conditions altogether.

Reference to misleading marketing was also made in the Gambling Commission’s address to the conference, as it stated concerns regarding the remote gambling sector in particular and that it was taking action to address such failures. The full address from the Gambling Commission on harm minimisation can be found here.

We understand that such action from the Commission has culminated in recent weeks in warning letters being sent to numerous online gambling operators to remind them of their duty to comply with licence conditions regarding advertising and advertising codes.

These developments highlight the fact that the Commission is tightening regulation on gambling marketing, with free bets and bonuses once again deemed particularly problematic. In such a climate it is necessary for gambling operators to take note of the diverse restrictions that apply to their use of advertising. Of particular relevance, given the ASA’s recent criticism, is the regulator’s guidance relating to free bets. The ASA states that “significant terms and conditions” regarding free bets should generally be stated in the advert itself. Where this is not possible, for example due to reasons of time or space, significant conditions should be displayed no further than one click away. “Significant terms and conditions” are those that relate to a consumer’s understanding of the free bet and of the commitments required on their part. Examples include conditions that:

• require customers to deposit the same amount of their own money as a free bet;
• require new customers to bet their initial deposit;
• require customers to match free bet amounts a set number of occasions before they are able to withdraw winnings;
• impose time limits in which bets are made before winnings are forfeited; and
• prevent the withdrawal of funds from the customer’s account until they have placed a certain number of bets of a certain value.

The ASA also specifically warns against the use of the term “risk-free bet” and, in particular, both the prominence of terms and conditions relating to “risk-free bets” and whether these contradict the “risk-free” claim.

The Commission and the ASA’s stances serve as yet another reminder to the industry of the potential obstacles in promoting free bets and bonuses and, more generally, stand as another example of the continuing battle between operators and regulators regarding the advertising of gambling in Great Britain.

For more information, please contact Anna Soilleux or David Zeffman.