Racing tips service rapped
WATCHDOG CALLS INTO QUESTION CLAIMS IN ADVERT
Reporter A TIPSTER service has been criticised by advertising watchdogs who claim it misled punters by exaggerating the chances of winning.
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against Isiris Racing Services.
It told Isiris, which operates out of a post office box number in North Seaton, Ashington, that it had not proved its advertising claims.
The finding followed an ad in the Racing Post and is the eighth time the ASA has reprimanded the service.
But Isiris hit back, saying the ASA got its sums wrong and the complaint was “laughable”.
The complaint was brought by Lord Lipsey, a member of the Starting Price Regulatory Commission, acting in a personal capacity.
The ad said: “Make a fourfigure profit or continue with us free until you do.”
It went on to say 27 out of 30 bets were successful for a 90% strike rate.
It said: “We have had 30 bets in the last two months and only three outright losers for a 90% strike rate and very large profits too, of course.”
Lord Lipsey challenged the claims on the grounds that they were misleading and couldn’t be substantiated – and the ASA agreed.
The adjudication said: “We considered consumers would interpret the claim ‘Make a four-figure profit’ as an indication that they would be likely to make such a profit if they were to pay for membership of the service.
“We acknowledged that the claim was followed by the text ‘or continue with us FREE until you do.’
“However, in the context of the ad and the claims made about Isiris Racing Services’ past performance, we considered consumers would understand the claim as an indicator of future performance.
“Isiris Racing Services had not provided any documentary evidence to support the profit claim.”
The ASA also questioned how the 90% strike rate was calculated.
It said one of the bets included in the ad was a losing bet and should not have been included as part of the claim.
The ASA adjudication said: “The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Isiris Racing Services that profit claims must be based on odds that were achievable by most customers and needed to be substantiated.
“We also told them to ensure they held adequate substantiation for claims made about strike rates and bets placed in their advertising.” Isiris said it disagreed with the decision.
A spokesman for the company said: “Part 1 of the complaint is based on the notion of ‘win a coconut on your first throw or get another throw free’ and the ASA investigator decided that this implied that the customer was guaranteed to win a coconut. Readers can make their own judgement on whether that statement is a guarantee of winning a coconut or not.
“Part 2 showed the mathematical inadequacies of the ASA in that they agreed that our profit was correct but they did not agree that the number of bets was correct, as they clearly had problems counting up to 30.
“If your normal bet is £100 on Newcastle United to win, but occasionally you prefer to split the bet into two halves and put £50 on them to win and £50 to draw, then the ASA believe that this then becomes two bets.
“When I was at school, 0.5 + 0 .5 = 1, but the ASA pontificate that 0.5 + 0.5 = 2 nowadays.”
He added: “As the ASA cannot add up basic maths then there is no opportunity to give a rational defence against their laughable complaint.”