Background
This Ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on paid-for gambling-like ads, identified for investigation following intelligence gathered by the ASA. See also related rulings published on 25 September 2024.
Ad description
Three paid-for TikTok ads for Dataverse Co. Ltd, an online game provider, seen in March 2024:
a. The first ad for the social casino game app “Grand Cash Casino Slots” featured an individual shouting at their mobile phone “Woo woo, I won again!”. The voice-over asked, “What are you playing?”, to which they replied, “Grand Cash Casino Slots!”. The voice-over continued against a backdrop of casino graphics that included exploding gold coins, “Get the real Vegas experience and become a billionaire overnight with grand cash casino slots. Get in on collections, events and bonus games and the VIP system for extra rewards and bonuses. They have a huge welcome bonus to get you off to a strong start and they’re always adding more slots to play. Go download Grand Cash Casino Slots and start playing right now.”
b. The second ad for the social casino game app “Grand Cash Casino Slots” featured an individual against a background of casino slot machines and, at the same time, slot machine sound effects could be heard in the background whilst the individual said, “Hey, look at me, what did I say? No”. On-screen text stated, “My husband every time we go to Vegas and I blow all of our money”. The ad then showed a different individual against a casino slot machine background who said, “So that’s why he made me switch to mobile slots so I could experience real life Vegas casinos from home and become a billionaire overnight. Get this, there are huge welcome coins which will help you get a head start in the game easily. Grand Cash Casino Slot games add new slot machines consistently. That way you can always have fun and never get bored. If I were you, I would become a VIP like me and get extra rewards and weekly bonuses. I say playing this every day because it’s one of the only mobile slots that has collections, events and bonus games that will keep you entertained with their interesting challenges. Become a billionaire like me and download Grand Casino Cash Slots today.”
c. The third ad for the social casino game app “Double Win Slots Casino” featured casino slot machine graphics and an individual who said, “Guys, my bank account went from looking like this to this, just by playing Double Win Slots Casino instead of wasting my real money at casinos.” At the same time, two bank account statements appeared on screen. The first stated, “available balance $215.89” and the second stated, “available balance $5,477.55”. The individual continued, “Best part is you don’t have to spend a single penny, just huge payouts, free coins every three hours and a true experience just like you’re in Vegas. There’s a reason it has over 400,000 perfect ratings in the app store. Download free below and hit a huge payout!”
Issue
The ASA challenged whether the ads misleadingly implied the social casino games were gambling products in which real-world money or tangible prizes could be won and withdrawn.
Response
Dataverse Co. Ltd t/a Gamehaus said the ads were independently created by TikTok influencers who had submitted their content in response to tasks Gamehaus had posted through the TikTok Creative Challenge, a programme that allowed content creators to earn money by making ad creatives for different brands.
They confirmed that players of the game could not cash out any winnings for real-world money or tangible prizes. They said the game was designed for entertainment, and that all winnings were virtual with no real-world value.
Gamehaus said it was crucial that players understood the app was not a gambling app where they could win real-world money or tangible prizes, and they aimed to make that clear through various means. They said they would enhance their review process to ensure that all submitted content aligned with their guidelines and clearly communicated the non-gambling nature of their games.
They confirmed the ads had been withdrawn in the UK and gave assurances that the ads would not be used in the future. They said they would take measures to ensure their future advertising clearly communicated the non-gambling nature of the game to prevent any potential misunderstandings.
TikTok said restrictions applied to the advertising of social casino games on their platform and that included the prohibition of content implying that users could earn real-world money or where direct comparisons to gambling were made. They said the ads had breached TikTok ad policies, and as such, they had removed the ads from their platform.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA understood that social casino apps emulated slot machines or other casino-based games. However, we understood consumers were unable to win or withdraw any real-world money or tangible prizes from such apps, and, therefore, they were not gambling products. We further understood that, whilst real-world money was not required to play, there were in-game purchase options available which enabled consumers to buy in-game currency or additional gameplay features.
Ads (a) and (b) featured gameplay footage which we considered was similar to the type of gameplay seen in casino-based slot games, in which it was possible to win and withdraw real-world money. The ads also included prize terminology, such as “huge welcome bonus”, “win massive prizes” and “extra rewards and bonuses”. We considered such text, along with the gameplay footage, implied that using the app was akin to playing on a mobile slot or real-life slot machine, which involved gambling and the potential to win real-world money. In addition, ad (b) featured an individual against a casino slot machine background, and we considered seeing the gameplay footage alongside the individual situated in a casino and adjacent to a slot machine, would further reinforce to consumers that Grand Cash Casino Slots was similar to traditional casino-based gambling.
Furthermore, we noted the ads made direct comparisons to Vegas and the casino experience, for example ad (a) stated “Get the real Vegas experience” and ad (b), “I could experience real life Vegas casinos from home”, which we considered would be interpreted by consumers as indirect references to gambling. We therefore considered such comparisons would be understood to mean that the game was similar to playing a traditional slot machine whereby it was possible to win and withdraw real-world money.Both ads also referred to players of the game becoming billionaires within a short period of time; in ad (a) the voice-over stated, “[…] become a billionaire overnight”, and in ad (b) the individual shown playing the game said that they were also able to become a billionaire overnight, and encouraged others to “Become a billionaire like me” by playing Grand Cash Casino Slots. In both ads, becoming a “billionaire” was linked to the “real Vegas experience” offered by the app, and within that context, we considered consumers would understand the term literally and as a reference to winning real-world money. We therefore considered those references strengthened the impression that consumers could win real-world money or other tangible prizes.Ad (c) similarly featured gameplay footage which emulated slot machine games. The ad then showed the comparison of two bank account statements, “$215.89” and “$5,477.55”, as an individual said their bank account had increased from hundreds to thousands of dollars. We considered consumers would interpret that to mean the individual had won real-world money by playing Double Win Slots Casino. We acknowledged the individual also stated, “instead of wasting my real money” and “you don’t have to spend a single penny”.
However, we considered that implied, whilst the game was free to play, consumers were still able to win real-world money. As such, we considered it was not sufficient to state that the game was free to play to override the impression that real-world money or tangible prizes could be won by playing Double Win Slots Casino.Similarly to ads (a) and (b), ad (c) included prize terminology references such as “huge payouts”, “hit a huge payout” and, again, directly referenced the Vegas casino experience with the text, “a true experience just like you’re in Vegas”, which we also considered strengthened the impression that consumers could win real-world money.We also considered the names of the apps “Grand Cash Casino Slots” and “Double Win Slots Casino” advertised in the ads. Both apps contained references to casino and slots, terminology we considered consumers would associate with gambling. In addition, we noted that real-world money was directly referenced in the name “Grand Cash Casino Slots” and considered that would further imply that it could be won and withdrawn.
However, we understood that Grand Cash Casino Slots and Double Win Slots Casino were social casino apps and that neither real-world money nor prizes could be won through gameplay. We noted that there was no information provided to the consumer that it was not the case that real-world money or tangible prizes could not be won.Because we considered the claims and imagery featured in the ads, alongside the name of the apps, “Grand Cash Casino Slots” and “Double Win Slots Casino”, gave the impression that the apps were gambling products in which real-world money or tangible prizes could be won and withdrawn, we concluded that the ads were misleading and breached the Code.
The ads breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising).
Action
The ads must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Dataverse Co. Ltd t/a Gamehaus to ensure that they did not imply consumers could win real-world money or tangible prizes.
