A consumer complaint regarding a football-themed Paddy Power advert broadcast on the radio at Christmas last year has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). 

The complainant argued that the advertisement could be viewed as misleading due to the terms and conditions at the end of the broadcast being too quiet and spokent too quickly in comparison to the rest of the advert. 

The terms and conditions stated: “Pre match online bet builder bets only. Min odds one to five per leg. Min four plus legs. Max free bet £10 per day. Excludes enhanced match odds. T’s & C’s apply. 18+. Begambleaware.org.”

Meanwhile, the advert in question featured a character called Graham discussing the Christmas schedule with the Paddy Power support line, with Graham stating that his packed calendar makes it difficult to watch the football. 

A voiceover then read “Premier League is non-stop this December so make the most of it with Paddy Power’s Bet Builder offer. Get money back as a free bet if one leg of your Bet Builder lets you down. PaddyPower”, followed by the T&Cs.

PPB Counterparty Services Ltd t/a Paddy Power maintained that the ad contained all necessary conditions, and Paddy Power stated that the ad had not been sped up post-production and it had been ensured that no background effects affected its clarity.

The Flutter Entertainment brand also stated that it had reviewed the ad after receiving the complaint and did not find any issues, whilst Radiocentre had cleared the ad on the condition that listeners could easily understand the conditions – including in relation to speed, volume and background noise. 

In its assessment, the ASA upheld the complaint after agreeing that the words spoken after the statement “get money back as a free bet if one leg of your Bet Builder lets you down. PaddyPower”, were at a lower volume and faster pace than the rest of the ad. 

“We considered that the wording had been delivered in such a way that listeners would not have been able to take in their full content,” the authority explained.

“Because those conditions had not been presented in a clear and intelligible manner, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”

However, the ASA did conclude that the part of the ad made it clear to customers that the offer only applied to pre-match bets made up of four legs, with minimum odds of 5/1 and a maximum free bet obtainable of £10 per day.