Responsible gambling is at the forefront of affiliates' and operators' minds. With heightened regulations in full force we simply can't afford to be complacent regarding protecting vulnerable players. Along with hefty fines for operators who don't adhere to strict regulations, ethical efforts have been made to ensure players are supported from within the affiliate marketing community.
The increased focus on responsible gambling has also made players much more interested in researching what operators do to uphold the principles of responsible gambling. Affiliate marketers play a big part in this ecosystem of educating and directing customers to seek help when needed.
Affiliates are often viewed as objective sources of information, as a third party promoting games, products and brands.
A good affiliate will have detailed and in-depth content regarding any brand they feature on their site. Typically, such content will contain information about a brand's offering, including player acquisition and loyalty promotions, available games, etc.
However, there should also be details on their responsible gambling tools, rules of play and terms, and other relevant customer referencing information.
A professional affiliate should detail any terms and conditions associated with the brand offering, the deposit and withdrawal processes, and how to get help when you need it directly from the brand being advertised.
In recent times, affiliates have also started curating content about where to go for help, how to limit your gameplay and referencing what responsible gambling is, the tools you can install and use on your device to help limit your playing time and relevant responsible gaming policies pursued by the brands they are promoting.
This could be anything from how to effect a self-exclusion on the site within your player account to links to the appropriate support and counselling channels. A thorough examination of the site, and a conversation with the operator on their responsible gambling practices should always occur before any player is directed to a brand.
Affiliates have a responsibility to market and present offers accurately to their customers and should also ensure the appropriate research has been conducted as this builds brand trust and loyalty with your audiences and elevates the industry as a whole.
Affiliates can also act as a knowledge hub for discovering what responsible gambling is and why it's so important to be aware of what's on offer, besides adding appropriate links, guiding players where to seek support if needed and walking them through the process.
Successful referral partners will always nurture their relationship with operators, and as a result, work with them to push their responsible gambling messages accurately.
Allowing user-generated content can also be a good way to educate other players on the gambling tools and their effectiveness.
They will potentially have first-hand experience of the operators' safer gambling policies as it takes place in real life action. It means that they can share their experience with others adding credibility to a brand, or alternatively make people aware if there are any issues.
They could go a step further and use social media to create polls, asking users which sites they have had the best experience with regarding responsible gambling. It's also useful for the affiliate to have that second-hand information.
The role of the affiliate should never be underestimated when it comes to responsible gambling and educating players on safer gambling. It is typically always seen as the sole responsibility of the operator; however, affiliates now play a much bigger part in the customer awareness funnel and therefore should be taking this as seriously as operators do.
