Herefordshire Journals

Four Ross-on-Wye based gaming companies have incurred the wrath of the Office of Fair Trading for promoting allegedly “misleading” scratchcards.

The department has issued High Court proceedings against Strike Lucky Games Limited, McIntyre & Dodd Marketing Limited, The Winners Club Limited, and Dodd Marketing Limited.

The businesses promote various premium-rate prize draw scratch-cards which are distributed through inserts in magazines, newspapers and direct mailings.

A fifth firm, Gloucestershire-based Purely Creative Limited, has also been issued with the injunction, which the department says seeks to “prevent unfair practices”.

It also says that the scratchcards “deceive” customers into believing they have won expensive prizes and fail to include important information about claiming.

All five companies deny this, however, and state that the promotions comply with all the relevant laws and guidelines.

Heather Clayton, senior director at the Office of Fair Trading, said: “Our case is that these promotions encourage people to believe they have won a valuable prize when, we argue, the plain fact of the matter is that people are being sold a low value product.

“We have been unable to reach agreement with the companies or secure voluntary agreement that distribution will cease, so we think the best thing now is for the High Court to decide the matter,” she added.

A spokesman for the firms said: “The companies referred to have been operating lawful and enjoyable promotions in the UK for a significant period, in one case since 1987. They have an excellent record of regulatory compliance and have set the standard for best practice in the sector with a reputation for outstanding customer care.  In the past two years the Companies have awarded over £2.7million in cash to satisfied participants in their promotions, and customer feedback is consistently and overwhelmingly positive.

“In 2007, the companies agreed specific formulae for promotional advertising with The Office of Fair Trading and have adhered to these specific guidelines ever since.  The OFT has now reassessed the formulae and has sought assurances drafted in non-specific terms that the companies do not believe will provide them with regulatory certainty. 

“While the companies’ preference would have been to reach agreement through dialogue it became clear that discussions were not going to provide the certainty required.  Therefore the companies elected not to provide the assurances sought by the OFT in anticipation that court proceedings would be issued.

“Proceedings have now been issued and the Companies welcome these as an opportunity to gain definitive legal interpretation and explicit direction from the courts and of avoiding ambiguity and inadvertent breach in the future.”