The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled against a Sean Graham betting shop for misleading a customer after it refused to honor a promotional voucher during a major sporting event.
The incident occurred on March 14, the final day of the prestigious Cheltenham Racing Festival, when a customer attempted to use a £5 matched bet voucher.
The customer was informed by the shop that the voucher could not be used on that specific day because it was Gold Cup Day, one of the busiest days in the racing calendar.
A store worker claimed that this restriction had been verbally communicated to all customers when the vouchers were initially handed out and that this constituted a verbal agreement. The shop also stated that it had not received any other complaints regarding this issue from other customers who had been given the same voucher.
However, the ASA’s investigation focused on the physical voucher itself, which contained minimal information. The text on the voucher simply read: “£5,” “matched bet voucher,” “win only – See reverse for conditions of use,” and “voucher rules: […] to place your bet, simply take this voucher to any Sean Graham betting shop or on course facility.”
Crucially, there was no mention of any date restrictions or exclusions for specific events.
The ASA, which serves as the UK‘s regulator for advertising, stepped in to adjudicate the dispute. The authority concluded that the omission of a clear date restriction on the voucher, especially given that it was likely to be used during a major event like the Cheltenham Festival, was “likely to mislead” the customer.
The ASA emphasized that it is the responsibility of promoters to “avoid causing unnecessary disappointment” with their campaigns by clearly stating all significant conditions.
As a result of the ruling, the voucher was found to be in breach of multiple CAP Code rules related to promotional marketing and administration. Sean Graham can no longer distribute vouchers with ambiguous terms if it intends to refuse them on specific days.
