These guidance notes are intended to assist in the application of the
BCAP Code for Text Services  to advertising for betting tipsters. These services are normally provided via premium rate phone lines and these notes have been written with those primarily in mind but the same principles also apply to other comparable services.

Where an advertiser fails to co-operate with the television company in fulfilling its obligation to apply Ofcom’s codes, the television company may refuse to include particular kinds of claims in the advertising or may, if necessary, refuse to accept the advertiser’s business.

            Unacceptable services

1          Advertising for betting systems and the like is not acceptable. Advertising is not acceptable on behalf of tipsters who offer money-back guarantees.

2          Advertising for ‘update lines’ etc is acceptable only where the television company is satisfied that the recorded messages are brief and that the lines are a valid and necessary complement to the ‘main line’ service.

            Location of advertising

3          Advertising for betting tipster services must not appear on or next to pages which are of particular interest to children. (This includes both advertising and editorial pages.)

            Identification of advertiser

4          The true identity of each racing tipster (ie not simply a business name) and his or her full, permanent business address must be disclosed to the television company before the start of any advertising campaign.

5          Each advertisement must carry the usual trading name and business address of the ‘Service Provider’ of the premium rate phone line (not the ‘Line Provider’). PO Boxes and accommodation addresses are not acceptable. Advertising ‘signposts’ which refer viewers to other advertising need not carry this information.

6          Tipsters who run, or are associated with, any other tipster services advertised on the same text channel must make clear in their advertising the link between the services. Advertising ‘signposts’ which refer viewers to other advertising need not carry this information.

7          The BCAP Codes require that all advertising for premium rate phone services comply with the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice.

8          In addition, advertising for premium rate phone services which are likely to involve a call lasting five minutes or more must carry a warning such as ‘This service may involve a long call’.

            Misleading advertising

BCAP requires that all claims made in television advertising are checked for truth and accuracy by the television companies before they are broadcast. Claims to be, for example, ‘the best’, ‘better than the rest’, ‘in touch with the top trainers’ or ‘first with the news’ must therefore be supported by convincing evidence. Claims which cannot be substantiated in this way are not acceptable and this rules out claims such as ‘This horse cannot be beaten’ or ‘I can promise you great results’. There is no objection, however, to advertising ‘puffery’ which simply, for example, describes an advertiser's general business style or objectives (eg ‘We always know where the action is’) and which viewers would be unlikely to take very seriously.

9          ‘Track record’ claims

            Claims concerning a tipster’s successes are acceptable only where the advertiser has provided (in advance of the relevant races) appropriate supporting evidence (‘proofing’) of all tips offered on his or her service on the day or during the period in question.

10         ‘Profits’ claims

            No claims regarding notional profits from previous tips are acceptable.

11         ‘Doubles’, ‘Trebles’ etc

            Claims to have tipped a successful double or other combination must be supported by ‘proofing’ which confirms that the winners were clearly and specifically tipped as a combination. (In other words, three winners from six tips, for example, or four winners from five tips, must not be described respectively as a successful ‘treble’ or ‘four-timer’).

12         Quoting prices/odds

            The only odds which may be quoted in advertising are Starting Prices. No odds may be quoted in advance of the race in question. Copylines such as ‘50/1 winner on the cards’ are, therefore, not acceptable since such odds may not, in practice, be available.

13         ‘On line’ times

            Where advertising claims that a recorded telephone message is updated at a particular time, the advertiser must ensure that this does indeed happen.

14         Changing circumstances

a          If circumstances change in such a way that advertising would be rendered misleading (eg because of the cancellation of a race meeting), the advertising must be amended or removed without delay.

b          Advertising must also be amended without delay if the content of the tipster's recorded phone message is changed in a way which renders the advertising misleading. (For example, if the advertising promises two tips but the tipster decides, in the end, that only one is worth offering.)

15         Non-runners

            If a tipped horse is not a ‘declared’ runner, then any reference to that tip must be removed from advertising without delay. (However, advertising which refers to a tipped horse which is declared overnight but subsequently withdrawn will not normally be considered to be misleading.)

16         ‘Maximum bet’ advertising

            No tip may be described in advertising as a ‘maximum bet’ or similar unless it is the only tip offered for a particular race. (This does not preclude a tipster changing the tip if a better prospect emerges.)

            Claims regarding the success of a ‘maximum’ tip are acceptable only where the advance ‘proofing’ confirms that it was offered as such.

Updated September 2004