According to the Advertising Standards Authority, an advertisement for the game Golf Clash was deemed misleading due to insufficient disclosure regarding loot boxes
Original Report: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK concluded that EA misled customers in a paid Facebook advertisement about loot boxes in Golf Clash.
Due to this finding, the advertisement is prohibited from reappearing in its existing format. The ASA directed EA to ensure that future advertisements clearly highlight the existence of random in-game purchases.
The Golf Clash ad included a brief statement at the bottom saying, "Includes optional in-game purchases (includes random items)," however, this message vanished quickly. The concern was whether this brief disclosure adequately informed users of loot boxes.
The complaint was upheld, with the ASA declaring that the ad violated the UK's Non-Broadcast Code and constituted misleading advertising.
The regulator highlighted that the text was small, appeared only for a short period, and was in a "light grey font" against a swiftly changing, colorful background.
"We therefore found the background creative distorted the appearance of the text and, in combination with the quick-moving nature of the video clips, made it difficult to read the text, which we considered was material information to consumers," stated the ASA.
The agency further added: "Because the presentation of the text within the context of the ad overall was not presented clearly, we concluded the ad was likely to mislead consumers to the presence of loot boxes within the game."
The ASA has previously alerted EA in earlier rulings this year for misleading advertisements concerning Golf Clash.
Update: EA shared a statement with GamesIndustry.biz in response to the ASA decision: "This was an old ad for Golf Clash and while it did contain the required disclosures, they were not as visible as they should have been.
"We remain committed to ensuring continued clarity and transparency in our ads to ensure players and parents have the information they need to make informed choices."
