What could the Twitch gambling link ban mean for affiliates?

Twitch – the world’s most popular live video streaming platform – made an unprecedented move in August by banning content including links and referral codes to roulette, dice and slot games, effectively removing affiliate marketing for those products.

The platform noted the decision was made with harm prevention in mind, protecting users from “questionable gambling operators”.

While this hasn’t satisfied some users on the platform that demanded a blanket ban on all gambling content, it’s a notable insight into how Twitch and parts of their community perceive this type of marketing tactic.

To ban the practices entirely rather than attempt to enforce regulation, further highlights the increasing challenges ahead for some sections of the gambling industry.

Despite the Twitch ban being headline grabbing, it’s worth bearing in mind that for UK-licensed operators at least, their time on the platform may have been short lived anyway. Under current ASA guidelines, the threshold for determining the suitability of media for advertising is that no more than 25% of the audience can be under 18. With 20% of Twitch users aged between 13 and 17, there are obvious questions about the suitability of the platform for gambling content in general.

If Twitch is the canary in the coal mine and their decision is part of steps to regulate affiliates in the UK, it’s important to consider the practicalities of such an enforcement, identifying how this would differ to the current model where licensed operators take responsibility for their own marketing via third parties.
Licensing of affiliates in the UK looks unlikely for now
Licensing of affiliates would likely require legislative changes, which would be cumbersome and time-consuming to enact. However, the current Gambling Act 2005 review does look likely to consider marketing practices generally – particularly online with a view to improving regulation.

Where there is a possibility the Gambling Commission could ultimately move to regulate affiliates directly, it may fall on affiliates to ensure controlled access to content by introducing account registration and age verification. This is similar to remote business to consumer operators that must implement age verification steps before customers can access any free-to-play versions of gambling games on their websites.

Detailed requirements of an age verification process are not currently prescribed by the Gambling Act 2005 for affiliates, but it is clear that the process should be sufficient to ensure that a customer exists and they are over 18.

The costs of undergoing regulation may be sufficient to stifle the affiliate market, although many may see this as a positive step by some to minimise exposure to ambient gambling and the promotion of gambling products to underage individuals through such platforms as Twitch.

It is worth noting that an increased consensus from some parties within the affiliate industry suggests that regulation is not only inevitable, but that it should be embraced to drive up standards, despite the associated costs.

Not only would direct regulation be costly, but an equally important question is whether the Gambling Commission has the resources to regulate the broader marketing industry.

Some have suggested a light touch approval process for affiliates, which may not be overly burdensome.

The Gambling Commission already provides information on its webpages regarding affiliate marketing, including appropriate steps that can be implemented such as age-gating and geo-gating content promoting online gambling.

The move by Twitch was a notable case study that has highlighted the potential societal harm gambling can cause when targeting the wrong audience. While it remains unlikely that other platforms follow suit to ban gambling content entirely, it looks an inevitability that even if affiliates and platforms aren’t directly sanctioned, this type of marketing content that has given Twitch sufficient cause for concern won’t have a much longer shelf life on other channels. This point is particularly potent as scrutiny across responsible social media and affiliate marketing practices increases significantly.

Richard Bradley is a member of the gambling (betting, gaming and lottery) team at Poppleston Allen and advises clients on various aspects of licensing law including operating, personal and premises licences. He has assisted in the development of bespoke compliance regimes for operators under the Gambling Act 2005. Bradley acts for a range of leisure operators from single premise owners to multinational corporations that provide land-based and online gambling services.