Implications from the UK Betfair Ruling on Affiliate Marketing & Responsible Gambling

In November, a case was filed by a decade-long customer of Betfair against it, claiming that Betfair owed him a duty of care and was responsible for him losing £1.48 million. However, the UK High Court evaluated the compliance processes of the company and eventually dismissed the case.

This decision of the court highlights the importance of compliance and shared responsibilities of gambling across all players in the ecosystem. In this heavily regulated industry, it gives clarity to operators.

However, it also raises pertinent questions about responsibility in gambling, and the role of various stakeholders in ensuring the sector remains free from ambiguity.

Shared Responsibility in the Gambling Industry

Creating a safe gambling environment isn’t the responsibility of a single entity. Operators, affiliates, game providers, brands, and all the other players in gambling are responsible for protecting and informing their players about how to protect their interests.

1. Operators: They can ensure that they are meeting existing regulatory standards in the countries where they operate. In addition, they can help users set limits, monitor behavior, and notify them when needed.

To ensure that affiliates adhere to responsible gambling standards, operators can leverage tools like Affnook, a comprehensive affiliate management platform. Affnook helps operators track and manage affiliate activities, ensuring compliance with responsible gambling regulations. Through its real-time reporting and monitoring features, operators can ensure that affiliates are promoting content that aligns with regulatory standards, avoiding misleading or irresponsible advertising that may encourage excessive gambling.

1. Affiliates: They are the ones who bring players onto gambling platforms. Therefore, they are, in a way, responsible for guiding users to gamble responsibly. It is essential for affiliates to not target vulnerable people or share misleading messages to bring in more users.
2. Game Providers: They can initiate the deployment of key features that restrict irresponsible gambling. Designing games with safety features like bet limits, reminders to take rest, and more are some ways in which they can do their part.
3. Regulators: Authorities can take account of the ever-evolving nature of the sector and create rules accordingly. Creating clear rules and regulations will help all stakeholders achieve the common goal of responsible gambling in this industry.

What can Players do?

Responsible gambling is all about betting within limits, being aware of the risks, and being sure that gambling is only for fun. The main goal of responsible gambling is to protect and create a secure environment for all players.

 Key Aspects of Responsible Gambling

1. Self-awareness and Control: It is important to be conscious and practice self-control while gambling to avoid self-harming behaviour.
2. Setting Limits: Players can set their limits on the platforms they use, which helps in maintaining control and avoiding spontaneous gambling behaviour.
3. Avoiding Chasing Losses: The key principle of responsible gambling is to understand that losing is a part of the game. The focus should not be on betting a higher amount to recover. This way players can avoid getting caught in an unbreakable, self-destructive cycle.
4. Seek Help When Necessary: If stuck in a continuous cycle of loss, players must be encouraged to get support from local helplines and counselors.

However, the root of the problem lies in how and which players are encouraged to gamble. Since affiliates are the source of traffic for platforms and brands, it becomes crucial to check whether they are following responsible practices.

Affiliates’ Role in Promoting Safe and Responsible Gambling

There are two ways in which affiliate marketing can be supervised to ensure compliance.

1. Clear-Cut Player Acquisition

One of the key challenges identified is ensuring affiliates are transparent and responsible in their marketing efforts. Operators can do their bit by ensuring affiliates are transparent and clear that traffic is not generated by using unfair means. This includes:

• Disclosing where and on whom paid advertising campaigns are being run.
• Proof that content aligns with responsible gambling standards.
• Sharing whether referred players are properly informed about risks.

By using Affnook’s precise attribution tracking, operators can monitor where and how traffic is generated, ensuring no deceptive or risky practices are being used by affiliates in player acquisition.

2. Stronger Supervision of Affiliate Operations

The case highlights the importance of operators clearly demonstrating that they are following the rules. To avoid liability, operators may introduce regular monitoring and audit processes.

Affiliates should always be prepared for:

• Comprehensive, routine compliance checks.
• Scrutiny on advertisement placement, structuring, and targeting.
• Implementation of penalties in case they are found in violation of laid down norms.

With Affnook, operators share media in all formats using which affiliates can run campaigns. This is a simple way for affiliates to run campaigns that comply with operator norms. In addition, operators can monitor affiliate performance in real-time to flag any issues.

Summing Up

The Betfair ruling underscores the importance of shared responsibility in ensuring a safe and regulated gambling environment. Operators, affiliates, game providers, and regulators must all play a part in promoting responsible gambling and protecting players. Affiliates, in particular, have a unique role in guiding players towards responsible gambling practices.

By using tools like Affnook, operators can ensure affiliates adhere to compliance standards, avoid misleading promotions, and create a safe experience. Collaboration and effective monitoring are essential to tackle gambling addiction and other harmful behaviours. As the gambling sector continues to evolve, ensuring that all players—whether operators or affiliates—act in the best interest of the players will be key to long-term success and regulatory harmony

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