The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has taken action against five social casinos for running misleading ads on TikTok that suggested viewers could win and withdraw real money through the free-to-play games. The ASA found that the ads failed to clearly indicate that the games were social casinos and not real money platforms, leading viewers to believe otherwise.
The banned ads were from Zeroo Gravity Games LLC, Mobee Co, Huuuge Global Limited, Dataaverse Co, and SpinX Games. Zeroo Gravity Games’ ad in particular featured sounds and imagery of a slot game and used phrases like “hitting a jackpot,” further misleading viewers about the potential to win real money. The ASA has instructed these operators to refrain from using such ads in the future and to ensure that their marketing materials do not imply that users can win real money through their games.
Social casinos have been a controversial topic as users can spend real money to purchase virtual coins without the ability to withdraw any winnings, leading to legal challenges in the US. The ASA’s actions against these social casinos on TikTok highlight the need for transparency in advertising and the importance of accurately representing the nature of the games being promoted.