Complaint against Coral World Cup ‘PRICE BOOST’ ad not upheld

A complaint made against a Coral ‘PRICE BOOST’ advert during last summer’s World Cup has not been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The ad, seen in the Racing Post on 16 June, stated “PRICE BOOST Argentina v Iceland MESSI TO SCORE 2+ GOALS 5/1”. Text below reading “WAS 3/1” was struck through, and The Campaign for Fairer Gambling challenged whether this crossed out price was misleading.
Coral responded by noting that the ad stated “guide price only, prices are subject to fluctuation” to ensure consumers were well-informed about the offer.
The firm further explained hat the standard priced market moved in a way that made the price boost more advantageous to the customers who placed a bet on it. The 5/1 price boost returned £60 for a £10 bet. If consumers had bet £10 on the market at the guide price of 3/1 the return would have been £40, and at 13/5 – the odds available in the standard market the day before the match – it would have returned £36.
After making the decision to not uphold the complaint, the final assessment made by the ASA read: “The ASA considered consumers would generally be aware that odds were subject to fluctuations in the build-up to a sporting event. We considered that those fluctuations were not typically represented in ads.
“Consumers would therefore infer from the crossed out price of and the reference to a “PRICE BOOST” that the price of 5/1 was a promotional offer from Coral which created a genuine benefit for the consumer, as opposed to a standard fluctuation in the price.
“That impression was reinforced by the conditions that appeared immediately below the price claim, which were “Max bet £10. Available online and mobile from 8am for a limited time only”. We understood from that text that the “price boost” only applied to bets placed online or via the Coral mobile app.”