Ad rules

Kontest is used by people from 13 years old, most of them in Nigeria. An ad shows up in their feeds between games, so it has to be fit for all of them: honest, legal and safe.

An ad is 1 to 5 pictures or a video of 5 seconds to 5 minutes, a caption, and one button with a link. It runs as your account, under your name and picture, and stays on your page. What it costs is on the Advertise page.

An ad may not show, sell, promote or link to:

• Anything illegal in Nigeria, or where the ad is seen: goods, services or activities.
• Gambling with real money: betting and sports betting, casinos, lotteries, pools, and “stake and win” games or apps, licensed or not.
• Adult content: nudity, sexual content or services, dating for sex, and sexualised pictures of anyone.
• Hate: attacks on people for their tribe, ethnicity, religion, nationality, sex, disability or any similar trait.
• Scams and misleading claims: get-rich-quick and doubling schemes, Ponzi and pyramid schemes, investments or crypto that promise returns, fake giveaways, fake reviews, miracle cures, and prices or offers that aren’t real.
• Weapons: guns, ammunition, explosives, and knives sold as weapons.
• Drugs: illegal drugs, prescription medicine, codeine and other syrups, tobacco, vapes and anything for getting high.
• Counterfeit goods: fakes, replicas and anything that copies another brand’s trademark.
• Political ads: parties, candidates, campaigns, elections and votes, and causes argued for or against a government. Kontest is for games; in Nigeria, political advertising has its own rules and seasons under the Electoral Act, and we keep out of it altogether.
• Malware and harmful links: viruses, spyware, phishing, pages that ask for passwords or card details under false pretences, and anything that downloads on its own.
• Impersonation: pretending to be another person, brand, public body or Kontest itself, or using their name, logo or picture without permission.
• Alcohol, because people under 18 use Kontest.
• Violence and shock: gore, cruelty, and content made to frighten or disgust.
• Other people’s private details, or their pictures without their consent.

• Money: loans, savings, payments and investments only from businesses licensed to offer them in Nigeria (by the CBN, SEC or FCCPC, as the product needs), with the real costs stated. No promised returns.
• Health and beauty: no claims to cure, prevent or treat illness, and no before-and-after pictures that mislead. Products that need NAFDAC registration must have it.
• Religion and causes: events and services are fine; attacking another faith or group is not.
• Games and apps: welcome, as long as no real money can be staked or won.
• Comparisons with other brands must be true and fair.

• The link must start with https:// and use a real web address: no bare IP addresses, and no usernames or passwords in it.
• It must open what the ad shows: the product, offer or page it talks about, working, in the same language, with nothing hidden behind a redirect.
• The button must say what happens. Pick the label that fits: Shop now for a shop, Download for an app, Book now for a booking, and so on.
• No links that download a file on their own, open a payment straight away, or ask for a Kontest sign-in.
• App store links are fine for Download. Links into WhatsApp, Instagram and the like are fine if the account is yours.
• The caption may not hide another link, phone number or code to get around these rules.

A person at Kontest reviews every new ad before it shows, usually within a day. Editing an ad that’s already approved sends the change for review again; the approved version keeps running until the change is approved, and stays if it isn’t. Running the same ad again, unchanged, doesn’t need another review.

An approved ad can still be paused or stopped if it turns out to break these rules, if people report it and we agree, or if the page it links to changes. If we stop it, the unused whole days come back to you in what you paid with (Koins for Koins, Kash for Kash or a payment through Bachs). If it’s turned down before it starts, all of it comes back.

When we turn an ad down we tell you why. The usual reasons:

• It shows or promotes something on the Not allowed list.
• The link is broken, doesn’t match the ad, or leads somewhere unsafe.
• The button label doesn’t match where it goes.
• A claim in it is misleading, or can’t be backed up.
• It uses somebody else’s brand, picture or music without permission.
• The pictures or video are too blurry, mostly text, or not readable on a phone.
• It looks like a Kontest message or button, to trick people into tapping.

Think we got it wrong? Write to ops@kontest.games within 14 days, from the account’s email if it has one, with the ad’s link (from My ads) and why you think it meets these rules. Somebody who didn’t make the first decision looks at it again. You can also change the ad and send it for review again.

You are responsible for your ad and the page it links to: that it’s true, that you have the right to everything in it (pictures, video, music, names and logos), and that it follows the law, including the rules of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and any approval they require for your ad. Our review doesn’t replace yours, and approving an ad doesn’t mean we vouch for what it sells.

Breaking these rules can get an ad stopped, and repeated or serious breaches can get an account closed. The terms for advertisers cover payment, refunds and the rest.