Compliance E-mails -- Deadlines

As everyone else we are receiving numerous requests to update sites for reviews and bonuses (UK) with a very short deadline or risk having program terminated.

With the large number of reviews and bonuses for all the requests it is becoming unrealistic to expect everyone to update everything without a vast team in place dedicated only to this issue.

It is very easy for a program to send one e-mail out to everyone, it is another thing for everyone to be able to respond to the many e-mail requests.

Just a thought .....

What other programs are asking for bonuses to be removed? I received numerous compliance t and c updates for various brands after the guardian hit piece but only bet365 has specifically asked for any action as far as I know.

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Originally Posted by MJM

What other programs are asking for bonuses to be removed? I received numerous compliance t and c updates for various brands after the guardian hit piece but only bet365 has specifically asked for any action as far as I know.

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Same here, only bet365 so far

bet365 gave a relatively short notice for their removal and Betfair had an offer change combined with a compliance warning not long ago.

Some of the others include GIG Affiliates, Casumo, Bet365 and BGO. There are others but these were the most recent.

Casumo Did.
Took us half a Day to update all content.

Guys .. I'm afraid it's going to get worse before it ever gets better we also have certain requirements that must get met such as

All Offers must Link to Terms and Conditions, The words Terms and Conditions must be visible, The offer must say for New Customers only and there must be a reference to Gambaleaware and responsible gambling.

I think Bet365 are going to the max and pre-empting issues it's not a bad thing to start looking at your UK advertising and getting in line with what the UKGC want.

There are going to be a lot more request like this in the coming weeks and months the UKGC have been given the green light to control and regulate the industry to make it safe for players as Gaming is seen as a VICE Industry just like smoking, drinking etc so they are going to be tough.

Operators are going get massive fines if affiliates don't comply with these types of requests so they would rather close your accounts then face having huge fines levied on them because of some affiliates not wanting to abide by the regulations.

In a way its good that a regulatory body is bearing its teeth as that's what they are there for.

I see 2 things that can be done.

1) You can apply yourselves in your time start looking at your UK facing advertising, websites etc and make the changes across all the casinos, by doing this you will be in line with what is going to be required and you will also be a " Legit " marketing partner and as such fill a void left my many affiliates that may not do these things and therefore have their accounts closed or banned or however a casino decides to enforce and possibly you could end up making more revenue.

2) You could keep your reviews up ( Bet365) and others make sure that you mark your pages with a Banner or a line of text that says that these casinos are not approved by your site this way you don't need to remove your review and content as you are as a citizen allowed to review any product legally no one can stop you but they can stop accepting your traffic and then send players from these pages to casinos that are approved ? So you don't lose traffic.

My 2 Cents but it's going to be a Long road i think guys should look to improve with these changes

Can someone please explain to me the new restrictions in plain English?

In an email we received from an affiliate it says:

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Be honest:
Ensure your ads, and relevant texts, are transparent and fair. And if you’re promoting to UK audiences, please include an 18+ logo and responsible gaming warning.

Don’t be misleading:
Don’t try and pass off an advert as anything other than an advert, and don’t post it in places where it could be deemed to be inappropriate.

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I understand the 18+ and responsible gaming part. What else is implied? What changes?
Thanks

So the UKGC have a checklist of things we as the operators would need to use as a guide to advise affiliates on what is the correct way of advertising a casino product.

I Can’t share this right now as we are still in discussions and working out ways to best implement a lot of this but will try to explain best I can but I think if you follow this in principle on any UK Pages that are UK facing advertising you should be okay with all operations.

The other thing is that is if you comply with these for the UK 99% chance you'll comply with other markets and regulators if ever they decide too make such changes.


Make sure you have the words, Terms and Conditions apply, 18 +, New Customers Only, Play Responsibly and Gambleaware (link to www.beg ambleaware.org) under the offer. This should also Hyperlink to the Correct and Accurate Terms and must be 1 Click away from where your offer is advertised (simple enough) this must appear everywhere you have the offer

There must be NO advertising on the same page as the casinos offer that can be deemed to be Offensive ( Sex, Racism, Violence) or that promote irresponsible gaming and don’t make it sound like gambling is the way to end all one’s personal issues

Don’t make false statements use the correct offer as advertised.

If your unsure about anything or what is correct or not ask your affiliate program there are going to be a lot of these sorts of things floating about wht is correct for one casino may not be for another. Some casinos may want to cover all basis and ensure that there is no room for mistakes as these could be costly others may be a little more lenient so just be careful and Ask is my best advice I guess.

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Originally Posted by Miles_Videoslots

So the UKGC have a checklist of things we as the operators would need to use as a guide to advise affiliates on what is the correct way of advertising a casino product.

I Can’t share this right now as we are still in discussions and working out ways to best implement a lot of this but will try to explain best I can but I think if you follow this in principle on any UK Pages that are UK facing advertising you should be okay with all operations.

The other thing is that is if you comply with these for the UK 99% chance you'll comply with other markets and regulators if ever they decide too make such changes.


Make sure you have the words, Terms and Conditions apply, 18 +, New Customers Only, Play Responsibly and Gambleaware (link to www.beg ambleaware.org) under the offer. This should also Hyperlink to the Correct and Accurate Terms and must be 1 Click away from where your offer is advertised (simple enough) this must appear everywhere you have the offer

There must be NO advertising on the same page as the casinos offer that can be deemed to be Offensive ( Sex, Racism, Violence) or that promote irresponsible gaming and don’t make it sound like gambling is the way to end all one’s personal issues

Don’t make false statements use the correct offer as advertised.

If your unsure about anything or what is correct or not ask your affiliate program there are going to be a lot of these sorts of things floating about wht is correct for one casino may not be for another. Some casinos may want to cover all basis and ensure that there is no room for mistakes as these could be costly others may be a little more lenient so just be careful and Ask is my best advice I guess.

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Wow so if you were to say something like

Join xxxx today and get a xxxx matched bet......you then need to put 18+, new customer only, terms and conditions apply, link to gamble aware straight after the offer?

Every time you mention the bonus?

Yes .. That's the way its looking and you will have to Link to T & C

That is ridiculous really, how many times can you warn about t&cs on a page.

Any page that has bonus tables on it search engines will think it is a page about terms and conditions and not offers :cry:

And When are You targetting Uk audience?
with a .co.uk domain? Or also with a .com domain?
if all websites Whom are written in English Must be compliant with these terms it is going to be a big dissaster.
In our case it means we have to update over 2.000 content pages.....

Yes, it's a pain, and yes, it makes sites look very untidy. But what's the alternative? Get your accounts closed? It's the way it's going, unfortunately.

Just like to say a public thank you to Miles at Videoslots who has been very communicative and responsive in helping me understand how to comply. Unlike almost every other affiliate program who have just sent out impersonal, unhelpful and vaguely threatening emails. Cheers, Miles.

Tell me please I am still not 100% sure - does all this horror also apply to for example German sites with German traffic?!?!?!

Anyone have an idea if all that also refers to German sites?

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Anyone have an idea if all that also refers to German sites?

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At the moment these only apply to UK affiliates and are regulations from the UK Gambling Commission and the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority).

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Originally Posted by BBCasinos

And When are You targetting Uk audience?
with a .co.uk domain? Or also with a .com domain?
if all websites Whom are written in English Must be compliant with these terms it is going to be a big disaster.
In our case it means we have to update over 2.000 content pages.....

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It's for affiliates Targeting the UK .. Players or websites if your site can be seen in the UK or there is a possibility it can be viewed there then Yes I would make the changes.

Its a lot of work but this may be the way other regulatory bodies decide to go so if you do it for the UK you should then be OK in other places.

I would assume that if your site is in English like most affiliate sites there would be a chance it could be seen by UK residents better safe than sorry!

I am no expert and def 100% no lawyer so please don't take my word as law. if your unsure ask your partners for help im only trying to assist with some knowledge sharing as I think its important for affiliates to comply and don't want to see anyone lose income for unnecessary reasons.

If I include the text "Play responsibly" where should it link to? Or no link is needed? Can I link to my own page about responsible gambling? Are there any mandatory links?