The significance of a recent decision made by the UK Advertising Agency (ASA) appears to have gone unnoticed by many within the online gaming sector. In a move that should be shaking the industry to its core, the decision by the ASA to ban one of Bet 365’s free bet banner offers is good news for punters and the industry as a whole.
The offending banner, promoted the UK based Bet365 with the following the following offer:
“Bet365 Join Now..£200 Free bets for new customers..No1 for sports”
The ASA received a complaint that the banner ad was misleading on the basis that new customers could only claim £200 in free bets if they made a deposit with their own money and then met certain conditions prior to making a withdrawal.
Despite a robust defence from Bet365, who argued that the concept of ‘free bets’ and the accompanying terms and conditions that went with offers of this type, was well understood by experienced gamblers, the ASA ruled against Bet365.
Commenting on the ASA ruling, Jamie Spence , a leading analyst in the online gaming sector stated….
“The use of free bet offers with restrictive terms and conditions is a common ploy undertaken by a large number of online pokies and casino operators. In the vast majority of cases players are required to make real money deposits before they can withdraw any winnings. These offers often have restrictive terms and conditions which makes them anything but free .”
Spence goes on to say…
“The ASA decision will have a swift and immediate impact on the industry. Legitimate operators will now have little alternative than to change the way they market free bets. This ruling is great news for the end consumer.”
The complete ruling from the Advertising Standards Agency can be found at the ASA site.
Source: OnlinePokieClub.com - the number one site for the latest industry news. Vote now on our top 10 pokie games for 2010.
Tags: ASA, bet365, free pokies
This entry was written by Felix on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 3:02 am and is filed under News.
