Coral warned over free bets advertising

Coral has been censured by the UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) over a social media post that was found to breach marketing rules.

The offending tweet was posted by the gaming operator in April, and highlighted a special offer relating to Real Madrid’s match against Manchester City in the Uefa Champions League, in which punters who bet £5 on the Spanish side to win at odds of 5-4 would be paid out at 8-1.

A complaint was made to the ASA that the tweet, in saying “the easiest £40 you’ll make this week”, implied the bet was risk-free, and also did not make it sufficiently clear that winnings would be paid in free bet tokens.

Coral defended itself against both accusations, with the ASA agreeing that consumers would understand that Madrid were the favourites to win but that there was a risk of losing.

However, the ASA found against Coral on the second point, disagreeing with the bookmaker’s assertion that it was clear that winnings would be paid out in free bets.

The ASA said the ad must not appear again in its current form, and in a statement added: “We told Coral Interactive (Gibraltar) Ltd to ensure they made clear if winnings would be paid out in free bets.”

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