ASA Bans BoyleSports Ad for Encouraging Repetitive Betting

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against BoyleSports over a paid-for display ad that appeared on the Racing Post website in March. The regulator ruled that the promotion, called “Bank Builder Jackpot,” encouraged customers to gamble on more days than not during a promotional week, breaching CAP Code rules on socially responsible gambling.

The ad offered “UP TO £60 IN FREE BETS SHARE OF £10K EVERY WEEK” and ran weekly from 9 February to 8 March. To qualify, customers had to place at least £10 in bets on four, five, six, or seven days within a given week. The reward tier – credited as withdrawable cash the following Monday – increased with the number of qualifying days. BoyleSports noted that qualifying days did not have to be consecutive (except for the seven-day tier) and that the promotion targeted customers at different activity levels.

Ruling and Reasoning

BoyleSports argued that the fixed £10 qualifying stake meant customers could not increase their guaranteed benefit by raising bet size, and that the ad did not require increased stake sizes or full-week participation. However, the ASA disagreed. “We noted that betting on five or six days in a week would require some gambling on consecutive days,” the watchdog stated. It further observed that even the lowest tier – four days – encouraged placing eligible bets on more days than not. The ASA dismissed BoyleSports’ claim that average stakes for racing and football customers were higher than £10, saying this did not prove the ad avoided promoting repetitive participation.

The ASA ordered that the advert must not appear again in its current form. Separately, BoyleSports recently announced a sponsorship deal with English Premier League club Leeds United, the second major football partnership this week after Coral’s deal with Birmingham City.