There have been a number of reported misleading advertisements when it comes to online bingo that have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Channel 5 has not managed to join the ranks of operators that have fallen foul to regulators following complaints from members of the public.

Channel 5 was caught to be lying about the prizes that were on offer at its bingo site. The voice-over suggested to the audience that there were cash prizes to be won and the games were free to take part. While the games were free, bingo players found that they were unable to win cash and instead were playing for high street vouchers which resulted in viewers being rather upset at the misleading advertising of the games.

It was felt that Channel 5 were deliberately misleading players in order to entice new members to their bingo site and this resulted in a number of players complaining to Ofcom who have upheld the complaints. The regulator has now censured Channel 5 and warned them to avoid making any further false representations. Channel 5 has taken responsibility for the errors, suggesting that it was a human error which lead to the wrong messages being aired on TV.