GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 48 - December 2020

WALL OF SHAME contractual obligation to comply with a Code of Conduct for the affiliate party. Operators are expected to terminate relationships with affiliates who cannot/do not comply, pref- erably on a one strike and you’re out rule.” So, let’s follow the logic. Reputable casinos can, and probably will, terminate your af- filiate agreement just to protect themselves and cover their own asses. And less than reputable operators will terminate you for any excuse they want to and steal your play- ers and commissions. Sounds about right. Ugh. But, wait, there’s more. Let’s delve a little further into just exactly who the IGRG is and what organizations are behind it. The Industry Group for Responsible Gambling is made up of five trade associations: The Association of British Bookmakers, The Bin- go Association, The Betting and Gaming Council, The National Casino Forum and The British Amusement Catering Trade Association. What does it all mean? Well, it means that the IGRG Codes were written by a group that represents the best interests of U.K. gambling operators. Yep, the new IGRG Codes that encourage operators to termi- nate your affiliate agreement at their sole discretion on a preferred “one strike and you’re out” basis were dreamed up and implemented by a trade group whose sole purpose on this planet is to represent op- erators’ best interests. Let that sink way down in your soul for just a moment. In the meantime, welcome to the club, IGRG! You’ve certainly earned your spot on our wall. he online gambling industry is full of acronyms, but many of you may have never heard of this one. IGRG. It stands for Industry Group for Responsible Gambling and this dubious organization saw the sixth edition of its code for socially responsible gambling adverts go into effect on 1 October. These elongated codes consist of some 69 paragraphs dealing with topics such as television and radio advertising, sponsorships of sports teams, social media marketing, and online adverts using banners. Of course, for our purposes, we are primar- ily concerned with social media, banners, and other promotions that you could place on a website. You know, the stuff that has consequences for affiliates. While we encourage you all to read the new IGRG codes for yourselves in their entirety, we could not help but notice that over and over again those codes mention that “oper- ators are responsible for compliance with the codes.” Which leads us to paragraphs 61 and 62, labeled “Affiliate activity,” where everything pretty much starts to go straight down the shitter. Paragraph 61 erases any doubt that operators are ultimately responsible for the marketing activities of their affiliates. Followed shortly by paragraph 62, which gives operators the green light to screw their affiliates even fur- ther, stating: “Compliance with (paragraph 61) is expected to be managed by way of a Industry Group for Responsible Gambling 70 “ Reputable casinos can, and probably will, terminate your affiliate agreement just to protect themselves and cover their own asses . And less than reputable operators will terminate you for any excuse they want to and steal your players and commissions .” G P W A t i m e s . o r g