The Government of the UK WALL OF SHAME 68 as part of this business, 95% of those regulating our industry could not accurately describe exactly what the hell an affiliate actually does. That’s OK. We’re used to double standards. But, let’s be perfectly clear, the licensing of affiliates would NOT be a good thing. Licensing would remove the limited anonymity that most webmasters currently enjoy. And, most likely, the cost of any license would be more than the average affiliate could afford. And I’m guessing that a license would not provide much benefit for the affiliate, if any. After all, the Gambling Commission states that there are currently “tens of thousands” of affiliates in the U.K. and that those affiliates drive 40% of acquisitions in online gambling. Our worry is that the blokes that are governing us will use those numbers to calculate what an affiliate license is worth. For example, what they should charge you for being a hard-working affiliate. Either way, all it will end up being is a cash grab. We’re not sure if the U.K. will actually require affiliates to be licensed or not. But what we do know is that the U.K. Government just can’t leave shit alone. Every time those in power have an opportunity to exert their authority, they do. And every time they exert their authority, or stick their nose into something new, they usually cock it up. Just look at the work they have done in our industry already with deposit limits, speed of play, credit cards, and restrictions on certain words and advertising. And now we may be on the doorstep of affiliate licensing. That, my friends, is reason enough for us to nail the rear end of the entire U.K. governmental body to our Wall of Shame. Welcome to the club! We are a few months removed from the publication of the U.K. Gambling Act White Paper and you’re probably not surprised that the British Government has found itself in the cross hairs of our APCW Wall of Shame laser. Shortly after the release of the highly-anticipated report back on 27 April, there was talk that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t going to be as bad as we feared. There was hope that it was much ado about nothing. Well, we here at the APCW aren’t so sure about that. Of all the recommendations of reform that were included in the dossier, the one that hit home the most for us was the part that indicates there are some in the U.K. government who feel that affiliate marketing is actually a risk to the U.K. gambling industry. And why not? After all, the politicians there, the Gambling Commission, and other governmental bodies seem to have spent decades ignoring us. And after nearly 30 years G P W A t i m e s . o r g
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