Betting Offers Under Scrutiny

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Betting offers are big business these days. You’re just as likely to find them advertised at half time in the football or even in national newspapers than any other traditional consumer product.

Good news for the bookies, because the fact they can afford to advertise in these high profile places implies that, thanks to web and mobile, sports betting is more lucrative than ever before.

The bad news is that the ASA is starting to take an interest in some of these ads, particularly the small print and Ts and Cs associated with particular offers, enhanced odds and free bets.

Some firms are better known for their offers than others of course. While you’d rarely get a price boost out of the likes of Ladbrokes, many punters go after other offers which seem to come out every other day. Paddy Power’s money back offers are also particularly popular.

Befred, though, along with 888, both fell foul of a recent ASA judgement which took a dislike to the way they advertised various promotions. At fault was the small print, which stated wagering requirements to qualify for the free bets. It was ruled that they should have made these clearer to customers.

It’s unlikely that either of these rulings will halt or slow the frequency of betting offers on the market, or significantly change the places where they are advertised. Whether we’ll start to see bigger small print or more prominent qualification requirements remains to be seen.