How Compliance Protects Affiliate Revenue
For iGaming affiliate marketers, compliance is seen as an obligation from the companies they promote. However, compliance does more than fulfill regulatory demands. It also protects affiliate revenue.
Publishers invest significant resources into creating high-quality content that attracts as many website visitors as possible. Losing a gambling operator partnership because of non-compliant content affects the affiliate’s revenue directly.
In today’s iGaming world, the industry is heavily regulated. Yet, compliance is an essential part of the long-term profitability of affiliate marketing.
Why Revenue Depends on Compliance
Revenue from gambling industry affiliates depends on trust. Operators place their trust in affiliate publishers to provide them with accurate information that promotes the products and their brands. They place trust in the information promoted on publisher websites concerning:
The brands they represent
Their compliance with advertising regulations
Promotions of responsible gambling
The accuracy of the information on their websites
Their targeting of the correct audiences
Strong compliance in the affiliate publishing industry protects their vital relationship with the gambling operators they work with.
Regulatory Expectations Continue Growing
Governments from around the world are increasing the number of regulations for the gambling industry. These areas cover:
Advertising regulations for gambling websites
Bonus regulations
Responsible gambling regulations
Consumer rights and protections
Data protection regulations
Affiliate supervision regulations
Gambling companies are implementing tools to monitor the content affiliates promote for their products. These affiliates must meet the regulations to continue promoting their products for these companies.
Publishers should expect an increasing number of compliance regulations to govern the promotion of gambling products.
Avoid Losing Operator Partnerships
Affiliate partnerships take time to establish.
Operators invest considerable effort to build a trusting relationship with their affiliate publishers. These relationships offer:
Higher commission structures
Exclusive promotional deals
Access to products before they launch
Dedicated account managers
More opportunities for successful website visits that promote their products
A poor relationship with an operator results from compliance failures. Maintaining high publishing standards protects publishers’ revenue from these companies.
Keep Promotional Information Accurate
One of the most common compliance issues in the industry is promoting outdated promotions.
Publishers must verify the information concerning the available promotions for gambling companies including:
Welcome bonuses
Wagering requirements
Time limits for promotions
Deposit requirements
Eligibility criteria for bonuses
Keeping this information accurate improves the user experience for website visitors and the revenue for the promoted gambling operators.
Routine verification processes will significantly reduce the likelihood of promoting content that will result in revenue loss for the publisher and the operator.
Build Trust With Visitors
The compliance efforts by publishers also build the trust that visitors have in the websites these publishers manage.
Visitors appreciate publishers that promote:
Honest product reviews
Transparent website rankings
Bonus information that matches the products they promote
Accurate website comparisons
Updated information on products
Publishers who demonstrate the trust that visitors have in them see:
More website visits from these users
Higher rates of successful website conversions
More repeat website visits from users
A better reputation for the websites they manage
Good compliance practices will ultimately benefit the publisher’s business.
Include Clear Affiliate Disclosures
One of the primary tenets of affiliate publishing is the need to be transparent.
Affiliate publishers need to clearly show visitors that they have a relationship with the companies they promote. This includes:
Affiliate relationships
Ways they are compensated by the gambling companies
Their independence as publishers from the companies they promote
Including these details in their websites allows them to build more trust with their website visitors and to follow their affiliate compliance regulations.
Responsible Gambling Protects Everyone
Including responsible gambling messaging on their websites has become a standard requirement for all gambling companies.
Publishers should prominently feature responsible gambling messaging on their websites to promote the correct product use:
Age restrictions
Promotions of responsible gambling messages
Links to responsible gambling support organizations
Self-exclusion tools to promote self-care among heavy gamblers
Publishers who fail to do this fail to meet the regulations that these companies have instituted.
Monitor Every Market Separately
The regulations governing each gambling jurisdiction differ significantly.
Publishers must manage separate compliance regulations for each market they operate in.
These areas vary by country and region include:
Wording of the promotions
Licensing information for the products
Availability of bonuses
Responsible gambling content
Eligibility of gambling operators
Publishers must ensure their compliance processes accommodate these specific regulations in every market they enter.
Establish Content Review Procedures
Publishers should have a content review process in place for all websites they manage.
Before publishing content on their websites, they should verify the accuracy of the information regarding:
Available bonuses
Information on the operators
Language used in their promotions
Links on their websites
Compliance requirements and disclosures
Targeting of specific countries and regions
Having a content review process will significantly reduce the number of compliance issues on their websites.
Use Technology to Simplify Compliance
Many publishing software solutions and platforms simplify the process of compliance for affiliate websites.
Some of the most useful compliance software tools include:
Tools that identify broken links on their websites
Scanning software for landing pages
Content management systems
Geo-targeting software for specific countries
Compliance alert software
Using such tools will make it easier for publishers to manage the compliance requirements of their websites.
Protect Search Visibility
Many compliance practices will improve the search engine visibility of their websites.
Search engines reward good content and positive user experiences on websites. Publishers who follow all compliance regulations will find their websites gain long-term benefits in their search engine rankings.
Strengthen Operator Communication
Affiliate managers are an affiliate publisher’s best compliance partner.
Through communication with these managers, publishers can receive:
Promotions updates
Compliance with new policies
Answers to compliance questions
Awareness of compliance changes and updates
Staying in communication with these managers will benefit both the affiliate and the operators.
Track Compliance Performance
The best affiliate publishers track their compliance with the companies they promote.
These compliance performance indicators include:
Content audit performance
Outdated promotion count
Broken link count
Compliance issue resolution time
Operator feedback on published content
Monitoring these statistics will allow publishers to improve the content on their websites.
Common Compliance Risks
There are several revenue losses for publishers resulting from non-compliance.
Some of these risks include:
Promotions with expired bonuses
Promotions that misrepresent the companies
Missing affiliate disclosures
Publishing incorrect licensing information
Publishing links to websites in restricted jurisdictions
Publishing broken links to companies’ products
Establishing routines to review and update their websites will significantly reduce these risks.
Compliance Builds Business Value
Well-managed affiliate publishers attract more interested operators and investors.
The best publishers demonstrate the strongest compliance and management of their websites. These aspects will ultimately determine the future of their growing affiliate publisher businesses.
For those looking to one day exit their affiliate publishing businesses, compliance will ultimately add to their business value.
Future Compliance Trends
Compliance regulations will continue to evolve in response to the development of new technologies in the iGaming and publishing world.
Some of the future trends in affiliate compliance will include the use of:
AI to monitor published content
Alerts to notify of new compliance regulations
Scoring systems to rate the compliance of their websites
Software to scan their websites in real time
Smart tools to audit the affiliate websites’ compliance automatically
Publishers who embrace these technologies will find it easier to manage their websites’ compliance regulations.
Best Practices for Affiliate Publishers
All affiliate publishers should adopt the following best practices:
Review the content on their websites regularly
Update the bonuses on their websites
Maintain their affiliate disclosures
Include responsible gambling messaging on their websites
Monitor the changes made by the companies they promote
Verify the links on their websites
Document the compliance procedures used on their websites
Stay informed about the regulations of the markets they promote
Following these practices will allow them to protect their revenue and maintain their reputation within the affiliate publishing and iGaming industries.
Final Thoughts
Compliance protects revenue. Publishers who take care to ensure the accuracy of their published content and their trustworthiness with the companies they promote will build stronger and more profitable publishing businesses.
As the industry grows in regulation, the importance of compliance to the affiliate publishers will only increase. By treating compliance as an asset that will improve their revenue, as it does, they will succeed in their efforts to generate revenue for the companies they promote.