The UK has found EA, Miniclip and Jagex guilty of violating the rules on advertising games with loot boxes
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that Electronic Arts (EA), Miniclip and Jagex misled users by not telling their game ads about the presence of loot boxes in those games. Companies have been banned from using this advertisement in the country.
RuneScape
Below is a little more information about which ads are banned.
Electronic Arts
- The ASA considered two advertising posts on Facebook* to be incorrect, with which EA promoted the mobile game Golf Clash from Playdemic. The first publication was made in August 2023, the second in September of the same year. There was no mention in any of them that there are loot boxes in the Golf Clash.
- EA has admitted guilt. According to the company, it adheres to the policy itself, according to which all advertisements should have an inscription with a warning about loot boxes, but in the case of Golf Clash, they forgot to add a warning. It was a human error.
- EA voluntarily removed the advertising publications.
Miniclip
- We are talking about an advertising post on Facebook* made in September 2023. In it, Miniclip promoted the 8 Ball Pool mobile game.
- The ASA noted that the advertisement not only does not mention loot boxes, but also focuses on the fact that 8 Ball Pool can be played for free.
- Miniclip told the ASA that its advertising does not mislead anyone, since 8 Ball Pool is really a free game and users do not have to make purchases to complete it. According to the company, it did not miss any significant information in the advertisement.
- The ASA disagreed with Miniclip's arguments and ordered the ads to be removed.
Jagex
- The ASA investigated the Facebook advertising post* from September 2023, in which Jagex showed a major update for RuneScape, a new combat skill "necromancy" appeared in the game.
- Jagex informed ASA that the loot boxes in RuneScape are in the Bounty Hunter mini-game and she sees no point in talking about them in an advertisement dedicated to "necromancy". In addition, by clicking on the link in the advertisement, the user will be taken to a site where there are all the necessary warnings. Also, there is not enough space in Facebook advertising publications* to write in detail about all the nuances of the game.
- In response, the ASA indicated that information about the loot boxes was necessary for the user to make a decision about purchasing the game, so Jagex should have mentioned them anyway.
The ASA began proceedings against the companies after a complaint from researcher Leon Yu. Xiao (Leon Y. Xiao). According to Xiao, he found violations in the advertisements of more than 200 games, but he does not have enough funds to sue all the companies.
*Owned by Meta. It is recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation, and its activities are prohibited in the country.
