The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) take promotional marketing of UK Competitions and Free Prize Draws seriously. Following investigations and subsequent fines being issued to owners and operators, OnGameUK has displayed the ASA guidance to offer a clear understanding of the risks and precautions that operators of UK Competitions and Free Prize Draws must be aware of.
The ASA advises that promoters should take legal advice before embarking on promotions with prizes, including competitions, prize draws, instant-win offers and premium promotions, to ensure that the mechanisms involved do not make them illegal lotteries (see the Gambling Act 2005 for Great Britain and the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (as amended) for Northern Ireland).
Code rule 8.17.2 states that any free-entry route should be explained clearly and prominently. Regardless of whether a promoter is required to have a free entry route, or has chosen to do so, information about it is considered a significant condition and should be stated in the initial advertising material.
Information about a free entry route should be presented in a way which ensures that those who see the advertisement and want to participate can see it, and that it should be promoted at the same level as the paid for route. Promoters should consult the Gambling Commission guidance on Free Draws and Competitions, and seek legal advice to ensure the presentation and mechanism of any free entry route is sufficient.
In 2017 the ASA investigated whether an advert for a prize draw which participants could buy tickets to enter made the free entry route sufficiently clear. The advert separated the instructions for entering for free by post from the links to where participants could buy tickets. The ASA considered that participants could easily miss the free entry route and that therefore, it was not sufficiently prominent (HMV Competitions, 11 April 2018).
The free entry route should be presented clearly, and it will not be sufficient to only reference this in small print at the bottom of a page, or in full terms and conditions. The ASA upheld complaints about an advert which stated "Look up T&Cs for free entry method" in small text at the bottom of the page but did not include any other information and did not include a link to the terms and conditions page. On the terms and conditions page, the free entry method was stated within a long series of terms and conditions. The ASA considered that by including information about the free entry route only in the terms and conditions meant it was not explained clearly and prominently and that therefore the advert was misleading and breached the code (KS Competitions Ltd, 02 December 2020).
The ASA may also consider the relative prominence of the paid entry route and free entry route in the advert, when assessing whether the free entry route is sufficiently clear and prominent. In 2020 the ASA considered a promotion which could be entered via its free-entry route by sending a postal entry. Although the option was at the top of the list, there was no further information regarding the free-entry route, for example, the cost associated with that entry method or which promotions participants would be entered into. In comparison, the paid "Online Entry" methods appeared significantly larger and included a ticket shaped graphic. The ASA considered that the information about the free-entry route was not explained clearly and prominently, and therefore concluded that the advert was misleading and breached the code (Omaze Inc, 07 October 2020).
Promoters should not confuse entry routes and claiming routes, and promotions should never have a cost to claim (Rule 8.21.1). The ASA has upheld multiple complaints against an advert for a promotion because it required consumers to ring a premium rate service to claim an award, which was a breach of code rule 8.21.1 (Churchcastle Ltd t/a Spencer & Mayfair 2011, 20 February 2013).
The advice and information above are designed to be read in conjunction with Section 8 of the CAP Code (Promotional Marketing), and Advertising Guidance on running promotions with prizes.
Source: OnGameUK makes no claim to producing this article. This article was produced by the Advertising Standards Agency and is displayed in full on the ASA website — https://www.asa.org.uk
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