The UK’s advertising regulator has banned TikTok ads from five social casinos for misleading viewers about the ability to win real money. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is going after five social casinos for misleading ads that imply people could win and withdraw real money through the free-to-play games.

viewers could form the impression they were real money platforms

Each of the ads in question appeared on TikTok and failed to clarify that the operators offer social games, which means viewers could form the impression they were real money platforms.

The ASA banned material from Zeroo Gravity Games LLC, Mobee Co, Huuuge Global Limited, Dataaverse Co, and SpinX Games. They specifically highlighted the content from Zeroo Gravity Games, which had sounds and imagery of a slot game and used terminology like “hitting a jackpot.”

The ASA has ordered the operators not to showcase these ads again, and ensure they don’t suggest users can win real money from their games through the omission of information in future marketing.

Social casinos are controversial platforms as users can often use real money to buy virtual coins without having any way to withdraw them, leading to numerous lawsuits in the US in recent years.