Billionaire Casino

The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned two TikTok ads for Huuuge Games’ Billionaire Casino, stating that the ads for the mobile game gave consumers the false impression they could win real money or real prizes.

In a decision announced last month, the ASA said one of the ads featured an individual who claimed they purchased a new Tesla because they “stopped going to the casino and started playing Billionaire Casino instead.” The ad showed slot machines “exploding” with gold coins, and touted “HUUUGE JACKPOT[S]” and “massive prizes” that consumers could win playing the mobile game, the ASA said.

According to the ASA, the second ad also showcased gold coins, along with a spinning roulette wheel with bold statements such as “BIGGER TICKET & LOTTERY PRIZES!” (A similar TikTok ad as the one described by the ASA appears above.)

The ASA said that the ads misled consumers to believe the rewards in the game could be transferred into real-world money or prizes, when that is not the case.

In response, Huuuge argued, among other things, that the ads were puffery (i.e., claims that are so obviously an exaggeration that consumers know not to take them seriously) and that the ad featuring a Tesla implied the individual “stopped going to the casino and with the money saved they could buy a car.”

Additionally, Huuuge noted that when consumers actually download the game, the company discloses that the rewards cannot be swapped for tangible prizes. But the ASA disagreed and made clear that the ads themselves must reveal this information to consumers.

For its part, TikTok told the ASA that the ads had breached its ad policy restricting the promotion of content implying that users could earn real-world money and confirmed that the ads had been withdrawn from the platform.

In addition to banning the ads, the ASA told Huuuge to ensure that future ads do not falsely suggest “consumers could win real-world money or tangible prizes.”

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