ASA Upholds Complaint against Betfair

This week, the UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint challenging a Betfair TV advertisement which claimed that Betfair was better priced than William Hill, Paddy Power and Betfred 30 minutes prior to the start of Channel 4 live races in September. According to the complainant, he understood those three bookmakers offered a "Best Odds Guarantee". The claim was backed by Betfair and Clearcast who stated that the mechanics underpinning the claim had been agreed some time ago and had been used by Betfair in a number of different ads since that time. They also expressed satisfaction that the comparison being made was fair and meaningful and pointed out that the ad did not make an absolute "better prices" claim, but that the comparison was both clear and unambiguous, allowing viewers to satisfy themselves as to whether Betfair would offer them a better price than the named competitors on whatever event they wanted to bet on. According to the ASA, the prices were of limited relevance in relation to the other bookmakers, which could pay out at better odds than those used in the comparison, ruling that the advert was likely to mislead viewers. Therefore, the ad may not be shown in its current form again, the ASA ordered.