Rivalry CEO claims new Ontario advertising rules are a gift for the black market
Steven Salz says regulator’s new rule changes will offer social media influencers on a “silver platter” to offshore operators
Rivalry CEO Steven Salz has said the new advertising rules put forth by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) are a potential gift for the black market.
The new restrictions, which were announced this week, will ban the use of professional athletes in gambling advertising and marketing in the Canadian province.
Gambling operators will be banned from using active or retired athletes in their advertising except for responsible gambling purposes.
Social media influencers are also included in these new restrictions, as well as cartoon figures, symbols, role models, celebrities, and entertainers who may hold an appeal to minors.
These rules will come into effect on 28 February 2024.
Speaking to EGR following Rivalry’s Q2 2023 results, Salz spoke about how the new restrictions could affect the esports-focused betting firm when they are introduced.
Salz said: “The one around cartoon characters might affect us due to the various cartoons we have around the site. The rules around athletes and celebrities doesn’t affect us, and we are in favour for the use of them in responsible gambling messaging.
“In Ontario, marketing standards have always been a little tighter, and we definitely do not push as hard with the same type of influencer marketing as we do elsewhere.
“We do have creators and influencers like ‘launders’ [real name Mohan Govindasamy] who is a big Counter-Strike: Global Offensive commentator, and he is a big partner of ours, but what we do with him is more content-driven than explicitly promoting our product,” he added.
Rivalry, which is focused on securing millennial and Gen Z users, features cartoons across its retro casino site, including Mr. Nipples – an axolotl mascot for the brand.
While the CEO said the new rules wouldn’t overly hinder the group’s marketing strategy, Salz went on to note that they could help the black-market operators in Ontario.
Salz continued: “I believe these rules will take a much bigger bite of the more traditional guys, and the one thing that frustrates us is that, like in most markets, the black market is prevalent and quite large.
“As the rules target specifically internet-based influencers, the AGCO is handing them on a silver platter to the offshore guys as they have none of these restrictions. Influencers don’t get punished for it, and they’re going to take the bigger cheque from some of the larger offshore operators and promote the services into Ontario.
“You already can’t talk about bonuses and promotions and now, if you can’t work with creators and influencers, the offshore operators are going to have an absolute field day.”
Salz revealed that Rivalry had offered suggestions to the AGCO on what rules it should implement in the province.
He added: “We told them to do what Australia does, as we have been in that market for a while. In Australia, they limit what channels you can put advertising on generally, which reduces the odds of a minor seeing it. There is also the whistle-to-whistle ban, which begins around 20 minutes before any sporting event, which means that after that time, no gambling adverts can be seen until 20 minutes after the event has aired.
“The whistle-to-whistle ban is something people in Ontario will be in favor of, as they went from seeing zero ads to now almost every other commercial is a gambling ad, which is annoying to the typical viewer.