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Despite reams of rules and regulations restricting the advertising of gambling, it remains remarkably easy to access streams that are marketing brands connected to unlicensed operators.
Most of Europe and a growing portion of Latin America are now some years removed from their grey market eras and have variously endured well over a decade of scuffles about offshore advertising.
The result being that most jurisdictions, whether they have opted for open licensing or monopolies, have established robust gambling advertising rules.
These regulations determine not only the content allowed in legal gambling advertising, but often also restrict the advertising of gambling companies seeking to illegally offer their products.
Despite this, it remains remarkably easy to find live footage of gambling on illegal gambling platforms from any jurisdiction, fronted by influencers flaunting bonus codes on platforms that do very little to prevent underage access.
Online streaming platform Kick constantly reports tens of thousands of viewers watching its “Slots & Casino” category, with viewers from around the world.
The streams see influencers from an array of countries endlessly spinning slots while conversing with a chat room full of their most avid viewers. Affiliate links or bonus codes are listed on screen or in description boxes.
These streams are present in many languages and often appear to target specific markets.
One stream by “extasyextano” lists its language as “Filipino” and advertises a site called Supreme Gaming, which says it is licensed in Curaçao but has no apparent approval to operate in the Philippines’ burgeoning domestic online market.
Another channel from British streamer “BenPhillips” features content and affiliate codes for Roobet, a crypto-focused casino, also licensed in Curaçao.
As with many of these kinds of gambling platforms, users attempting to access Roobet from some jurisdictions, including the UK, are greeted with a popup indicating that the site is not available in that market.
However, these geolocks are seen as remarkably simple to circumvent through the use of VPNs. A Google search of how to acquire a VPN and use it to access offshore online gambling sites displays thousands of results that will guide readers swiftly through the process.
In the UK, still the world’s largest single online gambling jurisdiction, downloads of VPNs have spiked dramatically in recent months, in response to the Online Safety Act.
The law, which is designed to prevent underage users from accessing pornographic or dangerous content, provoked a surge in the download of VPNs as a method of bypassing new age verification requirements.
In the days after the act came into effect, half of the top ten free apps on Apple’s download charts were VPNs.
There are very few controls in place to prevent underage gamblers or at-risk players who have self-excluded from becoming aware of offshore sites in general, and in the process discovering where to go once their VPNs are active.
Kick, for example, warns viewers that certain streams are 18+, but only requires a simple tick-box confirmation that the user is old enough to watch.
Turning Back The Tide
In several nations, regulators are attempting to combat the problem.
The Dutch Gambling Authority is one of the few authorities so far to take direct action against a streamer.
The KSA issued a fine of up to €75,000 in July against an influencer known as “LeftlanePapi” for live streaming illegal gambling.
In Romania, a new audiovisual code released in July will attempt to clamp down on the use of streaming to advertise gambling, although there are concerns that its definition of influencer will be too narrow to capture niche streamers like many of those promoting unlicensed websites.
“There is no definition as to what ‘notoriety in the online environment’ means and we are yet to see how will this be applied in practice, how many followers for example would one need to have to pass the notoriety test, or what other criteria is to be considered,” said Cosmina Simion, managing partner at WH Simion & Partners in Bucharest.
The code also introduces new rules to clarify that games of chance may only be broadcast if they are legally authorised in the country.
“Based on some informal discussions carried out with the National Audiovisual Council representatives, it seems the restrictions above extend to all forms of advertising – product placement, organic or paid,” Simion told Vixio GamblingCompliance.
Brazil Building Its Defences
Efforts are also underway to address streamers in the nascent Brazilian licensed market.
Regulations put in place last year make licensed operators accountable for any marketing conducted on their behalf by influencers or other affiliates, while prosecutors have attempted to pursue influencers acting behalf of offshore companies.
Meanwhile, a bill that would bring in new restrictions on advertising has passed one house of Congress. If enacted, that bill would completely outlaw influencer advertising of gambling, making it easier for authorities to crack down on domestic streamers who continue to promote offshore operators.
Although those who chose to continue targeting Brazilians from outside of the country will remain hard to pin down, one legal expert said regulators in Brazil are at least already well informed on the role that social media and streaming stars can play in the marketing of illegal gambling.
“Consumer authorities understand that influencers who monetise advertising on their social networks assume an active role in the supply chain and directly influence the purchasing decisions of their followers, who rely on a relationship of trust,” explained Lisa Worcman, a partner at Mattos Filho law firm in São Paulo.
“In that capacity, influencers are deemed jointly liable for the effects of the advertisements they disseminate, particularly when the content fails to observe the principles of veracity, clarity and transparency mandated by the Consumer Protection Code.”
