Fortune Tiger Controversy / Jogo do Tigre

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Part of a series on Brazil. [View Related Entries]

Overview

Fortune Tiger Controversy refers to a controversy involving the online casino application that promises cash prizes in just a few clicks. The slot-machine gambling game became one of the most played games in Brazil in October 2023, however, gambling is considered illegal in the country, which developed into a police investigation that arrested social media influencers allegedly involved in a pyramid scheme. A televised news scoop by the Fanstástico TV Program released in early December 2023 revealed that some Brazilian sub-celebrities had been receiving extensive advertising campaign money involving the game to attract new players.

Background

Fortune Tiger is a game developed by PG SOFT,^[1] a company specializing in online gaming. The mobile game was released^[2] on April 20th, 2022, and is described by the company as a "3-reel, 3-row video slot featuring respins and x10 multiplier," similar to a slot machine game.

The game was released in Brazil on May 19th, 2023, by the gambling facilities and casino company KTO Group and quickly ignited a debate on the internet, as gambling is considered illegal in the country. The YouTube channel @SBTNews^[5] posted a video explaining what the application is and the risks of playing it on June 22nd, 2023. The video (shown below) amassed over 264,000 views and 3,900 likes in seven months.

In just a month, the slot-machine game became extremely popular in the country, as research released on October 17th, 2023, reported that Fortune Tiger^[3] was the favorite slot-machine game by Brazilians at the time.

Developments

Fortune Tiger Police Investigation In Brazil

On September 29th, 2023, Fortune Tiger became a trending topic in Brazil after the number of people affected and others who gained significant money with the game, like social media influencers, led to a police investigation^[4] about the game's alleged signs of a financial pyramid scheme, in addition to other crimes.

On the same day, the TikTok^[6] page of the news website @metropolesoficial explained that the influencer Skarlete Mello was arrested for an alleged financial pyramid scheme involving the Fortune Tiger game. She is known for doing online raffles and promoting gambling on social media. The post (shown below) amassed over 72,000 likes in four months.

Influencers Pyramid Scheme

On December 3rd, 2023, Fanstástico TV Program exposed an ongoing investigation in Paraná, Brazil, about an alleged online betting scheme that has been widely publicized by influencers. The report highlighted the ostentation of the "supposed winners" of the slot-machine game who show off with luxury cars and promise exorbitant winnings. A video (shown below) of the news report was posted on YouTube^[8] on December 4th, amassing more than 121,000 views and 3,300 likes in a week.

Online Reactions

As the game became popularized in Brazil, several memes and videos making fun of the slot machine application started to show up on social media. For instance, on July 8th, 2023, X^[7] user @Guipolemico posted a comedy skit video about the game (shown below), which garnered over 167,000 views and 1,200 likes in six months.

On December 4th, 2023, TikTok^[9] user @alguemtocandoaboa posted a video using a filter of the Winnie The Pooh character Tigger joking about the Fortune Tiger game. The video (shown below, left) received roughly 34,000 plays and 549 likes in a week. On July 20th, 2023, TikTok^[10] user @anny_miranda12 uploaded a video paired with the overlay text "Me after losing 20 bucks on Fortune Tiger." The post (shown below, right) amassed over 2.3 million plays and 156,000 likes in six months.