Use of terms such as “free” in bonus offer advertisements
According to the Executive Order on Online Casino section 20(1)(1) and the Executive Order on Betting section 19(1)(1), licence holders who offer bonuses to gamblers for participation in a game must clearly state all terms and conditions connected to a bonus offer directly alongside the offer.
According to the Danish Consumer Ombudsman’s statement of 29 February 2016, the use of the word “free” when advertising a bonus offer is misleading if the offer involves a turnover requirement. This is against the Danish Marketing Practices Act.
Read the statement (only available in Danish)
The Danish Gambling Authority assesses that the use of the word “free” is also against the requirements of clear and transparent communication of bonus offers as appears from the Executive Order on Online Casino section 20(1)(1) and the Executive Order on Betting section 19(1)(1).
The same applies to the terms “free of charge”, “free spins”, and “free bet” if the offer involves a turnover requirement. The use of these terms may lead consumers to expect that the offer is actually free and without any limitations, thus, the offer violates the rules if the bonus offer is not actually free.
A legal use of the terms “free”, “free of charge”, “free bets”, and similar requires that the chance of winning is not reduced and the offer does not involve a turnover requirement which means that the bonus offer is actually free.