ASA Updates Advice on Matched Betting

The ASA has refreshed its guidance on promoting matched betting services and offers to the general public. It has urged advertisers to ensure that their marketing materials are appropriately targeted, and that they don’t imply that matched betting is risk-free, offer financial security or exaggerate potential winnings. The advertising watchdog has also ruled against a Ladbrokes ad featuring YouTube star Jake Paul.

Matched betting involves individuals wagering on all outcomes of a bet in the hopes of securing a sure win.
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False Security

The ASA has updated its guidance for operators on marketing matched betting services and offers to the public. The advertising watchdog has forwarded the guidance, which relates to non-broadcast advertising, to the CAP Executive. It has emphasized that its guidance does not constitute legal advice.

Matched betting is a technique whereby individuals profit from free bets and incentives offered by betting operators. Bettors will pitch the outcome of a free bet against that of a paid bet with another bookmaker. By hedging all outcomes, the user will ensure a winning bet, retaining at least the value of the free bet.

The practice has grown in popularity as punters attempt to get the most bang for their buck. Matched betting is completely legal and bookmakers do not have a problem with the practice. Sports fans can now use websites and software to make the process faster and easier.

The ASA has notified media owners that ads for matched betting should not be targeted at consumers under the age of eighteen. The ads are not gambling in themselves, so are not subject to Section 16 of the Code. However, they do usually offer instructions on how to bet and direct consumers to bookmakers or betting exchanges.

The move comes in response to a complaint received earlier this year over an ad placed on a site targeting university students. The Save The Student website offered money saving and financial tips, alongside wider lifestyle advice. Therefore, the context of the ad was not exclusively intended to be viewed by under-18s.

However, the site did feature articles that would be of particular interest to school leavers, such as tips on applying to university. Responding to queries from the ASA, the advertiser was able to offer some information about its audience, although it was unable to prove that less than 25% of the website’s total audience was under the age of eighteen. The ad was ruled socially irresponsible and inappropriately targeted.

ASA Cracks Down

Advertisers have been told that they must ensure that their matched betting campaigns do not imply a risk-free promotion. In theory, matched betting should eliminate the chance of losing a bet. However, due to some complication in the process involved, there is still a chance that some customers could lose money.

For example, users signing up to betting sites must meet certain requirements to activate their free bets. Manually placing the correct bets with separate gambling operators at the same time means that odds could fluctuate. Bets could also be placed erroneously. As such, like any form of gambling, a win is not a sure thing.

The ASA highlighted the example of an ad it investigated by OddsMonkey, seen in November 2018. The ad made the bold claim that OddsMonkey could make it simple for users to earn a tax-free second income. It also stated that its offering could minimize the risk associated with ordinary betting.

An investigation conducted by the advertising watchdog considered the ad’s claims of high earning potential and simplicity, alongside the level of risk compared to traditional betting. The ad failed to include clear information on the actual risks involved, and the ASA concluded that the ad was irresponsible and in breach of the Code.

The ASA’s updated guidance also calls on advertisers not to exaggerate potential winnings or imply financial security. The CAP Code makes it clear that ads cannot suggest that gambling could solve financial problems or be a means of achieving financial security. The ASA has previously cracked down on ads that have made such claims, including one by Profit Accumulator Ltd.

In 2020, it investigated the claim made by the ad, which stated “This is my 45th day of isolation… this money is so welcome as I haven’t earned anything in six weeks…”. The ASA ruled that the ad had suggested that casino bonus hunting could offer financial security to those who had lost employment during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jake Paul Ad Banned

This month, the ASA has also banned a Ladbrokes ad over its inclusion of an individual who has strong appeal to under-18s. A promoted tweet for the bookmaker, seen in February, contained an image of YouTube star Jake Paul. The caption accompanying the picture read “@TommyTNTFury beat @JakePaul by split decision last night. So, we’ve got to ask the question… What’s next for Jake Paul? Vote here now”.

The YouTuber is popular amongst teenagers and boasts more than 20 million subscribers on the video hosting site. Ladbrokes issued a response to the ASA’s investigation, stating that there were no calls to action, promotional offers or links back to its website.

The bookmaker added that its Twitter feed and respective tweets are age-gated, so cannot be viewed by users unless Twitter has accepted their age as being over eighteen. Referring to the CAP guidance ‘Gambling and lotteries advertising: protecting under-18s’, boxing is not listed as being of moderate or high risk in terms of appeal to minors.

According to that same guidance, boxing is described as an adult-oriented sport. Ladbrokes said that before publishing the ad it had assessed Jake Paul’s follower demographic, brand partnerships and sponsorships. It considered that the social media personality did not have a significant profile in boxing and had partnered with alcohol and cryptocurrency businesses.

The bookmaker stated that 16% of Paul’s YouTube subscriber were aged between thirteen and seventeen, and 0% of his Twitter followers were registered as under eighteen. Despite these assertions, the ASA argued that the star is best known for making YouTube videos and that of his 65 million followers across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, three million are under eighteen.

Paul has previously featured on children’s TV show Bizaardvark. Whilst the program has since ended, the advertising watchdog noted that it is still available on UK streaming platforms. At the time that the ad appeared, it ruled that he was likely to have some under-18 audience members. It ordered that the post not appear again or involve other personalities with a strong appeal to minors.

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