Let's Talk "Compliance"

[MJM]

A lot of chatter is going on with various individual threads, ladbrokes/betfair/bet365 etc - and I've also made changes at the request of bwin, kindred, and others. I suspect this is only just getting started!

We are a small team who have put in countless hours updating 40+ websites for all this stuff, it's become a real drain on resources.

Does anyone know, what if we don't display any bonus/offer at all? Would that make us compliant and thus release us from including "significant terms"?

[Anthony]

It has been a difficult task to remain compliant, since each program has a different interpretation of the regulations.

From my understanding (don't quote me on it, since each program looks at it differently and it's best to check with them directly), if you don't have a bonus offer listed you would be released from including "significant terms". In addition to not displaying any bonus/offer I would make sure any banner you display not have any offers either. We have done this on a few occasions and it has passed compliance.

[MJM]

I just got confirmation of that from betfair at least. We also target many parts of the world, so I'm hoping to implement some of this for UK only - although bet365 has made requests that cover all markets.

Hoping we can all work together a little bit to get through this all, it's very frustrating to say the least!

The UK was once the shining beacon of an example of a regulated market for us over here in the states, now it's the perfect example of over regulation and has turned into a nanny state!

[wonderpunter]

some of the programs have got wise removing certain bonuses and sending to a set landing page, this seems the most legit option and i have seen increase in conversions on some programs, however having to modify framework to make a patch work quilt of bonus regulations is a royal pain in the ass

[lufc]

Just going through it with Coral after Bet365. With Bet365 it was handled well and lots of communication whilst with coral, it's been almost impossible.

They need the details of an offer changing and t&cs added plus new banners. I told them I didn't promote the offer and didn't use banners. They then said I still need to make the changes before admitting they didn't even know what sites I was on about.

After listing them (again), I was told I needed to add the t&c's for the offer to my text buttons (even though I don't promote the offer and my sites aren't to do with it.

I'm hoping the bloke answering the emails is just confused again but i'm getting blanked now. Shockingly unprofessional from such a big brand.

[GlitzyBingo]

Just going through it with Coral after Bet365. With Bet365 it was handled well and lots of communication whilst with coral, it's been almost impossible.

They need the details of an offer changing and t&cs added plus new banners. I told them I didn't promote the offer and didn't use banners. They then said I still need to make the changes before admitting they didn't even know what sites I was on about.

After listing them (again), I was told I needed to add the t&c's for the offer to my text buttons (even though I don't promote the offer and my sites aren't to do with it.

I'm hoping the bloke answering the emails is just confused again but i'm getting blanked now. Shockingly unprofessional from such a big brand.

If there are no offers whats so ever and no call to actions such as claim now, sign up to get bonus etc and no mention of the offer within the reviews then you won't need to put the Significant T&Cs as you have no Coral offers for it to apply to.

I had this issue but my Ladbrokes / Coral aff manager yesterday but my account managers Laura and Elly later confirmed that I now don't need to add the terms due to my website having no mention of their offers.

[TheGooner]

Does anyone know, what if we don't display any bonus/offer at all? Would that make us compliant and thus release us from including "significant terms"?

Yes - if you don't promote any offer then you don't need to display T&Cs regarding any offer.

But if you display any banner that also displays an offer - then you need need to display all the T&Cs that they want (varies by company).

[lufc]

If there are no offers whats so ever and no call to actions such as claim now, sign up to get bonus etc and no mention of the offer within the reviews then you won't need to put the Significant T&Cs as you have no Coral offers for it to apply to.

I had this issue but my Ladbrokes / Coral aff manager yesterday but my account managers Laura and Elly later confirmed that I now don't need to add the terms due to my website having no mention of their offers.

Thanks for that.

That's what I thought and what I told them but they still said I had, although I have zero confidence in the bloke who I get the emails from (not sure if he is my aff manager or not). Pretty much every email start dear (with no name) and has errors in them.

[Topboss]

I am also finding that it is literally taking months to be compliant, and in many cases have also resorted to no offer at all.
However what I do find that makes my life even more frustrating is the following irritations I have come up with:

1) Many Affiliate programs send out emails threatening to close your account for non compliance, but then when you reply to them either with compliance or with a request for information - no response. Examples off the top of my head for this was Ladbrokes, Paddy Partners, Leo Vegas and a handful of others.
2) Many of the Affiliate programs are still showing old banners that don't comply with the new regulations or the banners don't correspond with the bonus on the actual website.
3) Many of them don't have tracking links for their terms and conditions.
4) The interpretations are so wide spread that what works for one doesn't work for the other one, so many times we are working in the dark.

My last thing that I battle with is that I have various sites that don't specifically target the UK - eg a South African site like www.gamingnews.co.za - This site is specifically targeted at South Africans, but because it refers to many land based casinos in SA - it gets lots of UK visitors...therefore if a UK visitor happened to click on a banner - could we be held liable if they then go on to sign up and play.....

if the rules and guidelines were more clear cut and the casinos followed the rules and actually responded, then I think it would make our lives much easier than a bunch of threats and mass account suspensions.

[Former Member 14]

My last thing that I battle with is that I have various sites that don't specifically target the UK - eg a South African site like www.gamingnews.co.za - This site is specifically targeted at South Africans, but because it refers to many land based casinos in SA - it gets lots of UK visitors...therefore if a UK visitor happened to click on a banner - could we be held liable if they then go on to sign up and play.....

I was in a similar boat. I don't target UK traffic but, was getting a few UK visits here and there. Decided to just block UK. No program hassled me after that. Guess it all depends on whether the UK traffic that visits your site, is worth jumping compliance hoops for.

In answer to your question... I believe you would be held liable, if it was a UK licensed casino you were promoting.

[allaboutthebets]

Starting to think the way to go for the UK market is just to remove all bonus information. Sounds like the easiest thing to do and the safest

[MJM]

Starting to think the way to go for the UK market is just to remove all bonus information. Sounds like the easiest thing to do and the safest

Us too at least until the dust settles. My main concern with this approach is whoever starts monitoring our sites for the brands - will they realize that our lack of displaying “significant terms” and the like is because we aren’t displaying an offer? Are they going to be smart enough to check from the proper country ip for those of us who geotarget to multiple parts of the world?

[benl12]

has anyone been threatened with the costs of fines? Any idea of how much these would be for not displaying correct terms or an out of date offer?

[Sidney]

Got notice of the BetVictor compliance today, which includes this...


"What happens if BetVictor receives a complaint about an affiliate advert?

...Should BetVictor receive a regulatory fine, the Affiliate will be required to reimburse BetVictor in full for the amount of the fine."

[Renee]

Got notice of the BetVictor compliance today, which includes this...


"What happens if BetVictor receives a complaint about an affiliate advert?

...Should BetVictor receive a regulatory fine, the Affiliate will be required to reimburse BetVictor in full for the amount of the fine."

What are your guys thoughts on this?

[DaftDog]

What are your guys thoughts on this?

If the affiliate has continued to ignore the programs request to fix a problem then it could be a solution. However, I'm not sure how they would collect such a fine from a small affiliate besides closing their account and keeping all future revenue.

[GlitzyBingo]

I am not sure how they can enforce it and courts would probably dismiss it same as they do when affiliates don’t get paid. However it is a good thing if it is enforced as there are still a few Rogue cowboy affiliates. I’ve lost count of the amount of spam myself (and family especially my dad) get for unsolicited emails that we never signed up to from Rogue affiliates.

If you are compliant and following the terms then there is nothing to even worry about or discuss in regards to fines.if you are worried about compliance just remove banners and promotions Or speak to your aff manager about any concerns.

And if you have bought an email list delete the email addresses or ask them to opt in because the ICO is hot on this too and many in the U.K. are fed up of email spam.

Just to add: Why should a company take the blame if it’s a PROVEN affiliate that caused the problem? A troublesome affiliate should be named and shamed with every fine and be forced to close business or be blacklisted so operators know who not to work with. Every fine an operator receives from a non compliant affiliate means the chance of one more operator closing all affiliates down which ruins the industry. So think before you do things!

[nwalker]

Just to add: Why should a company take the blame if it’s a PROVEN affiliate that caused the problem? A troublesome affiliate should be named and shamed with every fine and be forced to close business or be blacklisted so operators know who not to work with. Every fine an operator receives from a non compliant affiliate means the chance of one more operator closing all affiliates down which ruins the industry. So think before you do things!

To true. It won't be just the operators that the authorities will go after. I would expect non complaint affiliates to be in the frame as well.

[PromoteCasino]

To true. It won't be just the operators that the authorities will go after. I would expect non complaint affiliates to be in the frame as well.

We are trying to be compliant and where we have had the details we have added them to the site, But now I find myself chasing brands to find out what their policies (t&c's) needs to be added.

Some have come back others have ignored the request. Should we be fined in this case?

[nwalker]

Some have come back others have ignored the request. Should we be fined in this case?

What i'm doing is removing any text for bonuses and promotions for brands where i either can't get the info or they are slow in giving it to me. I want to remain compliant.

The more I learn the less I really want to be using bonuses and promotions to get players. I'm sort of fortunate that I don't pick up players that way anyway, so it's no great loss for me to remove the info.

However saying that I have read the CAP Guidelines and it's clear I haven't done enough with the information I've decided to keep, so I am going through everything again to standardize. It may be more than some brands want, but quite honestly it's not just them we have to satisfy, its the ASA and UKGC.

While the operators have some responsibilities for the agents / affiliates they use, we as affiliates running our businesses also have the same responsibilities. So just because an operator hasn't asked doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It only needs one player to complain to the ASA about something you've done wrong and wham you'll be hit.