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B.O.G.O.F.

In April 2012 some of the 'new' Mandatory Conditions will be 2 years old (particularly those relating to irresponsible drinks promotions).  As with any precocious 2 year old, the proud parents are waiting for things to get interesting as the conditions 'find their feet'.

The Industry as a whole has absorbed the new conditions with relatively little pain while Enforcement Authorities remain unclear on their true impact.

This firm has witnessed a lot of rhetoric and threats and in one case an aborted prosecution but otherwise little real impact. Despite what the Home Office's guidance may suggest, no promotion per se is outlawed by the condition as long as it is conducted in a manner which does not carry a significant risk of leading to or contributing to crime and disorder, prejudice to public safety, public nuisance, or harm to children.

This is the first hurdle for any Enforcement Officer to consider - does the promotion create a significant risk? If so, then one must consider whether the activity meets one of the descriptions (or is substantially similar to one of the descriptions) provided in the wording of the condition.

Too often we are finding Enforcement Officers attempting to put the cart before the horse.

The wording of your promotion is also largely irrelevant unless it can reasonably be considered to condone, encourage or glamorise anti-social behaviour or to refer to the effects of drunkenness in any favourable manner. 

Again there must be a "significant risk" and any wording must be read in context when deciding if it can reasonably be considered to be condoning, encouraging or glamorising...

'Buy one; get one free' is one particular promotion which seems (improperly) to be attracting the attention of some enforcement authorities at the present time

If challenged over such a promotion, we would recommend you seek urgent advice before necessarily accepting that such a promotion is de facto irresponsible.  As can be seen from the above there are a number of factors to consider in this area!