ASA Rules William Hill’s “Marble Race Live” Ad Misleading Over Stake Requirements
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned a William Hill promotion after finding that an in-app ad for Marble Race Live misled players by suggesting they could qualify for a £40 bonus with a £20 stake, when the real minimum was twice that amount.
The disputed in-app banner, displayed on 17 May 2025, encouraged users to “Enjoy £40 on us! When you opt in and stake £20.” However, the small print beneath the headline stated that the actual requirement was a minimum £40 stake on Marble Race Live.
A complainant challenged the ad, saying it was misleading because the main message implied that wagering £20 would be enough to receive the bonus.
William Hill’s Explanation
WHG (International) Ltd, trading as William Hill Online, admitted that the incorrect text appeared on one banner within the mobile app. The company said that the error stemmed from a manual edit during layout resizing, which inadvertently changed the staking requirement from £40 to £20.
They explained that the mistake was limited to a single placement shown to a targeted group of up to 3,057 users and remained live only from 17 to 19 May 2025. William Hill noted that customers who clicked through the ad could see the correct terms and conditions before opting in, and the promotion itself was based on the correct template.
The operator acknowledged the contradiction in the wording and said it had since reviewed internal processes to prevent similar mistakes.
ASA’s Ruling
The ASA concluded that the headline claim, “Enjoy £40 on us! When you opt in and stake £20,” would lead consumers to believe that a £20 stake qualified them for the offer. In reality, the required minimum was £40 — a condition that directly contradicted the main claim.
According to the ASA, “the qualification contradicted rather than clarified the headline claim,” making the ad misleading under the CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.9 (Qualification).
The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again in its original form. It instructed WHG (International) Ltd to ensure that all future promotions clearly reflect the applicable terms and conditions and do not present contradictory staking requirements.