SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Hordes of affiliates queuing up to push your product may seem like the ideal situation for an iGaming brand, but as told by GiG Media, it can actually be daunting in the face of new regulations across the globe.
A new wave of regulation has crashed across Europe, with Germany being the latest to enforce new rules. Germany’s new rules ban casino related keywords such as bonuses, poker, and slot machines, leaving a scramble to prepare for the implementation of new regulation in 2021.
Also in the regulatory pipeline are markets such as the Netherlands, as well as countries beyond Europe. Latin America is in the midst of growing pains as regulators begin making movement there in countries such as Brazil and Argentina.
At the same time in previously regulated markets like the United Kingdom, the regulatory body is getting ready for the largest review of the 2005 Gambling Act to date.
Never before has it been more important for operators to be able to check what their affiliates are doing, in order to protect their brand and regain control over their advertising efforts. A task that can sometimes seem unmanageable due to the sheer number of affiliate partners most operators work with.
Being a major brand with hordes of affiliates vying to push your product can, and often does, become a difficult and daunting situation in the face of new regulations. Rapidly catching affiliates up to new compliance standards can be analogous like attempting to cram the toothpaste back in the tube.
Keep up or risk being left behind
A way that operators can stay in control of their marketing compliance is to enlist the help of automated marketing compliance tools.
One of the companies that has been using data and automation tools for a couple of years now to stay on top of their affiliates is Stoke-on-Trent based operator bet365. One of the tools that bet365 has signed up to is GiG Comply.
“Using GiG Comply as part of our compliance process ensures we are able to maintain a highly compliant affiliate programme,” said a spokesperson for bet365. “The integration of the tool enables our compliance team to sustain a consistent approach to potential compliance issues and manage them effectively.”
GiG Comply originated from an understanding of the need to automate the compliance process. It was created with an engine that allows the operator to set their own set of rules, checks for compliance issues and takes the responsibility out of the hands of operator/affiliate mediators.
“Every operator has different requirements which is why, ever since we started developing GiG Comply, the key element was to create a tool that could be flexible enough to cater to the needs of operators,” explained Jonas Dam Vesti Petersen, Head of Performance Marketing at GiG. “This tool is something that can really help affiliate managers in their daily work.”
The work started back in 2017 when the UKGC compelled operators to become responsible for the marketing done by affiliate partners in order to prevent other operators from following Sky Bet’s example in taking the nuclear option to close down their affiliate programs.
Petersen added: “It very quickly became clear that there was an immediate need for smart technology tools capable of automating web-auditing. That need has only increased over the last few years.”
This was backed up by the spokesperson for bet365, who added. “Doing compliance checks manually leaves too much up to interpretation and circumstance. Every eye sees differently no matter how similar the intentions are, and so we need technology to help us stay consistent.”
