The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has updated its guidance on the promotion of matched betting services and offers, through which players bet on all outcomes of an event using “free bets” offered by operators as incentives. The watchdog said that this type of offer should not be advertised as being “risk-free” and has forwarded the guidance to the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Executive.
Matched betting is often promoted as being “risk-free” by bookmakers since, by betting on all possible outcomes, players can ensure a winning bet, possibly profiting from promotional “free bets.” However, the watchdog says that advertising cannot imply the bets are free of risk, which it argues contradicts the mechanics of gambling, and has warned operators that matched betting adverts must comply with the same rules as other gambling ads.
The ASA noted that, under the UK CAP Code, gambling adverts must not suggest that wagering can solve financial problems or generate financial security. The watchdog cited as an example of wrongdoing ads from OddsMonkey in 2019, which were deemed irresponsible for “suggesting simplicity and high earning potential.”
The Authority says it has also found exaggerations about potential earnings in advertising by Profit Accumulator and Grip Media, and noted it will continue to investigate claims of such exaggerations from matched betting. The watchdog has also advised media owners that while ads for matched betting are not gambling themselves, they still do instruct on how to bet, and therefore “should not be targeted at those under 18 years old.”
The watchdog’s updated policy on promoting match betting services and offers comes after the ASA received complaints about an ad on a site that targets university students that also had content that engaged minors. The ad was deemed inappropriately targeted and socially irresponsible by the Authority.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2023/07/06/67787-uk-advertising-watchdog-warns-matched-betting-services-cannot-be-promoted-as-34riskfree-34
