GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 44 - July 2019

tribal casinos, most of which are in rural areas and dependent upon people coming in in person, said Giles. The next debate session was titled “Motion: Regulation of affiliates is best for the development of a U.S. iGaming and sports betting market.” I expected this to be a rather unpopular proposition; I was again surprised. Four of the five panelists were pro-licensing; the fifth panelist, iGaming Business’ Michael Caselli, presented as more “skeptical” than “anti,” proclaiming himself Devil’s Advocate and setting his chair at a 90-degree angle to the others’. Rather than advancing claims about why regulating affiliates was a bad idea, Caselli asked probing questions about the assumptions un- derlying the other panelists’ arguments. Will the various gaming enforcement departments be able to police affiliates effectively? Will the licensing of affiliates really help battle the promotion of black- or grey-market sites, or will it be counterproductive? SO FRESH AND SO CLEAN Reining in unscrupulous actors was a major concern in both the affiliate-related and non-affiliate programming. Reputation is, of course, of great importance in affiliate marketing, and many speakers believed that the professional legitimacy conferred by licensing was an important tool in keeping the business above- board and accountable. It comes at a cost, obviously. Charles Gillespie, founder and CEO of Gambling.com plc group, in the “Motion: Regulation of affiliates” debate, pointed out that U.S. states adopting the New Jersey model would be unlikely to see the kind of “grassroots energy” seen in the U.K., where thousands of small affiliates run sites part-time rather than as a full professional enterprise. In their presentation about their experiences getting licensed inNew Jersey, Catena Media representatives Ryan Harper and Dustin Gouker described the process as “laborious”—not particularly difficult or expensive, but a lot of work. Harper even had to get fingerprinted. The licensing is necessary, Gouker said, to prevent affiliates from trying to serve both legal and offshore sites at the same time. (Louis Rogacki, Deputy Director of the New Jersey Divi- sion of Gaming Enforcement, was more blunt, saying, “You’re not doing anything with casinos in New Jersey if I don’t have a piece of paper.”) 33 G P W A t i m e s . o r g