UK ASA Bans “Misleading” Ad of Lucky Go Studio

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an ad of Lucky Go Studio after a claimant challenged whether an in-game ad was deceptive owing to unrealistic chances of winning prizes while using the app.

The commercial was first seen on 25 November 2019, which was initially shown as an in-play video ad for the Lucky Goal app. It showed someone attempting to order a pair of headphones on Amazon’s mobile phone screen but getting a message saying “Your credit card has been declined.”

The ad then featured “Lucky Goal–Funny every day” on-screen text and “New chances to win every day!” “Before the user begins the Lucky Goal app, plays a roulette game and wins $85.

A survey was then shown where two correct answers to the questions resulted in the user winning $100. The user then received a scratch card for $54. The ad concluded with a text indicating “LUCKY GOAL” and “PLAY. WIN. REDEEM” on-screen, below which were Amazon and PayPal logos.

Lucky Go Studio refused to respond to the ASA’s decision, leading the advertising watchdog to claim that this was an “apparent disregard” for the CAP code.

The ASA explained that the ad in question must not reappear in its current form: “We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future,” it said.

“We considered consumers would understand from the ad that users of the Lucky Goal app stood a reasonable chance of winning the sums of money featured in the ad and that they would be able to redeem any money they won. However, we received no information from the advertiser demonstrating that users had won and redeemed the sums featured.

“In the absence of such evidence, we concluded that the claim had not been substantiated and was therefore misleading.”