Paddy Power in trouble over TV advert

Paddy Power was reprimanded by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for its misleading Cheltenham TV ad.

UK.- The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints against Paddy Power’s television ad in which an actor at a “Paddy Power complaints” hotline confirmed that the Paddsters’ Cheltenham free bet offer was “available to everyone, even riff raff.” In addition, the advert included a voiceover that promised gamblers their “money back as a free bet if your horse finishes second in all races” at that year’s Cheltenham.

The advert has received 12 complaints, most of which outlines the ad’s fine print specifying that the offer wasn’t available to anyone the company determined was “abusing the offer or using the offer to guarantee profits regardless of the outcome.”

Paddy Power noticed it had emailed certain customers in advance of the ad’s airing to alert them that they weren’t eligible for this particular offer, also stating that this policy would be made clear long before a punter could place a bet.

Although the ASA acknowledged that the affected customers had been notified in advance it also mentioned that the “available to everyone” claim was an absolute claim, “therefore those customers who were restricted were likely to understand that they could participate.” At the end, the ASA upheld the complaints and ordered Paddy not to air the ad again in its current form.