Advertisment
An online advertisement advertised a promotion for the Cheltenham Festival:
“Cheltenham Festival.
NON-RUNNER NO BET
All Championship Races”.
The footnote at the bottom of the advertisement included the following:
“Applies to all Antepost bets placed on any Championship race at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival after 9:00 GMT Tuesday 6th February 2024.”
The footnoted also stated that “T&Cs apply”.
Complaint
The complainant placed a bet on a Cheltenham race called the “Champion Bumper” and when their horse did not run, they tried to avail of the refund as per the advertisement but were advised that the race they bet on was not a championship bet. As the advertisement had stated “all championship races”, and the race they placed the bet on was called the ‘Champion Bumper’, the complainant considered the advertisement was misleading.
Response
The advertisers said that the promotion was that they would refund any bets placed on Non-Runners in the Championship races of the Cheltenham Festival 2024.
They said that championship races were the most important and prestigious races run during the festival and the pinnacle of that form of racing with the sport’s most experienced jockeys and seasoned horses taking part. They said that the promotional Terms and Conditions, referred to in the advertisement, listed the races, which were the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Ryanair Chase, Stayers Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The advertisers said that the race the customer placed their bet on was the ‘Weatherbys Champion Bumper’. They said that a bumper race was the opposite of a championship race, where a championship was for the most experienced and seasoned in the sport and was the highlight of the day’s racing, whereas the Bumper race (given its name historically due to inexperienced horses bumping into each other) was normally the last race of the day, which was historically reserved for inexperienced jockeys and horses.
They said that whilst the race name ‘Weatherbys Champion Bumper’ contained the word Champion, it was not a Championship race and was not therefore covered in their Terms and Conditions as a race that was refundable. They also said that naming of the race was beyond their control.
The advertisers said that the promotional offer heading, the significant terms and full terms all highlighted that the offer was for Championship races only. They therefore believed that they had clearly highlighted the promotional Terms and Conditions and at no time tried to mislead their customers.
Conclusion
Complaint Not Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Committee noted the advertisement headline offer had stated “All Championship Races” while the footnote had stated “Applies to all Antepost bets placed on any Championship race” and had stated that terms and conditions applied. The Committee noted that the race the complainant had placed their bet on was called the ‘Weatherbys Champion Bumper’ and because it included the word ‘champion’, the complainant had presumed it was included in the promotion.
The Committee also noted that the promotional terms and conditions had listed the races included in the offer and that the race the complainant placed a bet on, was not one of those listed, and that it was not a championship race. They also noted that the naming of the race was beyond the control of the advertisers.
While the Committee noted the complainant’s presumption that a race that included the word ‘Champion’ in its title, was automatically included in the offer, they referred to the fact that not all ‘championship races’ had the word ‘Champion’ in their title. The Committee noted that the promotion had included all Championship Races in the promotion as stated in the advertisement and in the circumstances, they did not consider that the advertisement was in breach of the Code on the grounds raised.
ACTION REQUIRED:
No further action required.
