Games for money: what really pays and what is gambling or a scam

“Play and earn” is one of the most common promises in app stores and social media ads. Behind it are three very different things: loyalty apps that pay in points for games you try out, gambling in which you stake your own money, and scams in which the “winnings” can be collected only after paying. The first bring cents, the second the risk of losing, the third only a loss.

This part of the guide covers how to tell one from another, where the money in such apps comes from and what their rules say about how much and when they will pay you.

Three kinds that advertising blends into one

Loyalty apps: how they work

The best-known example of this kind is Mistplay. The app offers a list of games, you install them through it and play, and in return you collect points (“Units”). The money comes from game developers: they pay for players who not only install the game but also stay in it or buy. The app's terms of use show fairly openly what to really expect:

• The number of points depends on your behaviour. The terms state that it depends on the games played, activity in them, in-game purchases and ad views. In other words, the most points go to those who spend their own money in the game.
• Points are exchanged for rewards – for example, gift cards. Which rewards are available depends on the country.
• Points can expire, and when an account is closed there is no compensation for unused points.
• The rules can change. The company reserves the right to change, suspend or terminate the rewards programme and to test different reward amounts for different users.
• Age – from 18, and the service must be available in your country.
• “Helping yourself” is prohibited: auto-clicker tools, emulators, modified devices. For that the account is closed together with the points.

An honest conclusion follows: this is neither work nor earnings, but a discount programme for people who play mobile games anyway. If you choose a game only for the points and also buy in it, you spend more than you get.

Games with a “payout”: where the money goes

The second kind is simple games (puzzles, cards, a “wheel of fortune”) in which an amount in euros or dollars grows on the screen after every level. They earn from the ads you watch between levels – the developer gets money for every view, regardless of whether you ever reach the payout threshold. So the most important question is not “how much does the screen show” but “what is the payout threshold and how long will it take me to reach it”: if in the first hour you accumulate a tenth of the threshold and then the balance hardly grows any more, you will not see a payout.

Google Play's rules set limits for loyalty programmes: a programme must publish official rules, and in game apps loyalty points tied to purchases may be granted and redeemed only at a fixed ratio clearly stated in the app – they may not depend on the outcome of the game or on chance. This gives a practical way of checking.

Where a game becomes gambling

The line is drawn in law. The Law on Gambling defines gambling as a game or betting whose participants, seeking a monetary win, voluntarily risk losing the amount paid in, and in which winning or losing is decided by chance or by the outcome of some event or sports competition. So if in an app you pay for a “ticket”, a “stake” or “entry to a tournament” and can win money, it is no longer a game for a reward but gambling.

• Age. Under the version of the law in force from 30 June 2026, an operator of remote gambling must ensure that persons under 21 do not take part in it.
• Licence. Gambling in Lithuania is legally organised only by companies holding a licence and permit from the Gambling Supervisory Authority (Lošimų priežiūros tarnyba). Their list is published on the authority's website.
• Illegal operators. The authority warns that when gambling on websites that have no licence in Lithuania nobody protects the gambler's rights, and complaints about lost money are not examined. Such websites are added to the List of Illegal Gambling Operators and blocked together with payments.
• App stores. Google Play allows gambling apps only for licensed operators and only in the countries the licence covers.

Gambling is not a way of earning: winnings are paid from the money lost by other gamblers, and the operator's share is always deducted. If you feel you are gambling more than you planned, you can submit a request not to be allowed to gamble – such requests are recorded in the Register of Persons Who Have Restricted Their Ability to Gamble, which is managed by the Gambling Supervisory Authority.

The scam: “deposit to cash out”

The most dangerous kind looks like a game or an “earning platform”, but its aim is your payments. The pattern repeats:

1. An ad or a message promises money for simple actions: playing, “tasks”, “deposit multiplication”.
2. A balance or “profit” grows quickly on the screen.
3. To withdraw a larger amount you are asked to pay in: a “verification fee”, “taxes”, a “higher level”.
4. Once you have paid, a new obstacle and a new fee appear. You do not get the money.

Among the signs of such schemes the Bank of Lithuania (LB) lists the promise of quick, unrealistically high earnings without risk, pressure to increase the amount and a demand to pay additional fees. The bank also warns: if after you have fallen victim someone offers to “help recover” the lost funds for a fee, you will be cheated once more.

Real cases from police reports

• Tauragė, October 2026. A man born in 2001 contacted a person through an app about a “deposit multiplication” service, transferred 360 € overnight and did not receive the agreed profit.
• Klaipėda, September 2026. A young man born in 2007, supposedly investing, transferred 550 € to accounts indicated by strangers.

Where to turn. If you have transferred money, call your bank immediately – sometimes the payment can still be stopped. Then report it to the police via epolicija.lt or by phone on 112 and keep the correspondence, the name of the app and the payment confirmations.

When games really do bring earnings

There is money in the world of games, just not in the player's chair. Those who earn are the ones who create content about games: they stream, do reviews, run communities – and receive income from advertising, sponsors and affiliate links to games, equipment or subscriptions. That takes an audience and time, but it is the only path on which the reward grows along with the effort put in.

Frequently asked questions