The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint that a KamaGames ad published on social media platform X contained misleading claims around in-game purchases.
The ad promoted the operator’s “Blackjack 21: Blackjackist” game and included a tagline that read: “No annoying notifications. No purchases. Just. Good. Old. Blackjack.”
However, the complainant, an academic researcher in game regulation, was aware the game in question contained in-game purchases but argued the ad was misleading.
In response to the complaint, KamaGames said its declaration of “no purchases” stems from the fact that users can play the full game experience without having to make any purchases, if they choose to do so.
Instead, “chips” were available to players, both earned in-game and gifted daily, which ensured users could carry on playing without having to make a purchase.
The fact that the chips are earned through gameplay and daily gifts meant purchases were “optional, rather than essential”, according to KamaGames’ response to the ASA.
The business said it believed that in-game purchases did not impact the user experience in any way.
Additionally, KamaGames rejected the idea that Blackjack 21: Blackjackist contained any loot boxes or random-item purchasing mechanisms.
However, the operator did concede that CAP Code guidance states that the presence of in-game purchases should be included in adverts if such purchases are “material to consumer decisions”.
However, KamaGames argued its claim of “no purchases” was made within the context of the gameplay experience, where purchases are not required. It insisted that the advert did not imply purchases were unavailable, but that they weren’t needed to enjoy the game.
KamaGames has since withdrawn the advert.
As part of its reasoning for upholding the complaint, the ASA said it believed consumers would interpret the claim of “no purchases” to mean Blackjack 21: Blackjackist would not feature any in-app purchases whatsoever.
The advertising watchdog also factored in the rest of the tagline’s claims of “no annoying notifications” and “Just. Good. Old. Blackjack”, which it argued reinforced the feeling that the game was focused solely on gameplay.
The ASA acknowledged the game’s virtual currency of “chips”, alongside items such as “lottery tickets” and “free spins”, which were available to purchase with real money.
Such items gave players rewards that contained an element of chance, while Blackjack 21: Blackjackist’s Google Play Store page does note that the game contains in-game purchases, including random items.
The ASA determined the ad “misleading” and in breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and warned KamaGames that the ad must not appear in the same form again.
The post ASA upholds KamaGames complaint over “misleading” ad first appeared on EGR Intel.
Advertising watchdog determines that the ad, which appeared on X, gave the impression users were able to play blackjack-based game without the presence of in-game purchases
The post ASA upholds KamaGames complaint over “misleading” ad first appeared on EGR Intel.