Advertising Standards Authority bans mobile ads from King, Scopely, and others for misrepresenting gameplay
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has cracked down on misleading mobile game advertisements, banning ads from several major publishers including King and Scopely. The regulatory action, announced on April 28, 2026, targeted four separate cases where mobile game ads misrepresented gameplay to consumers.
The ASA ruled that ads from King, Scopely, Singapore-based Omnilojo, and Cyprus-based Vistrex (Royal Ark Games) violated advertising standards by using non-representative content. Common violations included cinematic sequences, non-gameplay footage, and false badges implying award wins that didn’t reflect the actual gaming experience.
The most serious enforcement action targeted Omnilojo, which publishes zombie strategy titles Dark War Survival and Last Z: Survival Shooter. Three Google ads for Dark War Survival were flagged for particularly egregious misrepresentation of actual gameplay.
According to ASA senior investigations executive Freddie Alcock, “Mobile game ads must give people an accurate impression of the gameplay they can expect and mustn’t mislead them with scenarios or features that aren’t representative of the actual game.”
The rulings represent part of a broader ASA initiative to crack down on deceptive practices in the mobile gaming advertising space. The watchdog has emphasized that publishers and developers must ensure their promotional materials accurately reflect what players will actually experience when downloading and playing their games.