Bonus abuse
UK regulator snuffs out cross-selling, caps bonuses
Gambling Commission brands cross-sell attempts as “potentially harmful.”
In +More: Thai cabinet approves casinos plan.
Slap down: BetMGM’s fine in Ontario for offering cash inducements.
Not Instagrammable: ASA forces PokerStars to pull casino promotion.
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Gambling harm
Crossed out: The UK Gambling Commission is to ban multi-product promotions and cap bonus wagering at 10x, following its long-awaited update to marketing rules. Operators will no longer be able to cross-sell between verticals, such as offering a slots bonus tied to a sportsbook bet, after the regulator branded the practice “potentially harmful.”
From 19 December, operators must not include more than one gambling product in a single incentive.
Bonus playthroughs will also be limited, with punters not able to wager more than 10 times before bonus winnings become withdrawable.
The changes aim to reduce harm and improve transparency, stemming from the 2023 White Paper on gambling reform and subsequent requests for public input.
Most consultation respondents supported reforms to bonus structure, wording and policy intent.
All mixed up: The UKGC said mixed-product offers present a higher risk of harm, with complex terms often leading to consumer confusion. New rules sit under SR Code 5.1.1 and are designed to clarify previous wording on how bonuses are structured.
Tim Miller, executive director of policy at the Commission, said the reforms will give customers “much better clarity and certainty” before they sign up.
The ban also covers manipulations such as boosting rewards if qualifying activity is completed faster than the stated offer window.
Across the great divide: The update set gaming social media ablaze, with concern across the sector that bonuses would effectively be dead and smaller operators crushed. “Oh my God, the Gambling Commission just killed cross sell! Or at least they sort of tried to, a little bit,” said Alun Bowden, strategic insight senior vice-president at EKG.
He added that the wording was “in a frustratingly unspecific way that is likely to cause absolute chaos for cross-sell promotions and products.”
Tom Galanis, CEO of TAG Media & First Look Games, echoed the thoughts of several other operators in saying the changes would be “music to the ears of black market operators,” while others felt the regulator had attempted to compromise.
A lower wagering cap might have aligned better with harm-reduction goals but would have made legal deposit bonuses commercially unviable, said Northridge Law gaming partner Melanie Ellis.
“But I am concerned the wagering requirement restriction, while higher than it could have been, will create a large gap between the bonuses that can be offered by licensed and unlicensed operators,” she added.
10 things I hate about you: While the 10x wagering limit marks a regulatory first, player protection voices felt it doesn’t go far enough. Anti-harm consultant Mark Conway said anything above 1x or 2x still promotes unrealistic expectations, noting that 10 consecutive successful wagers is statistically remote.
He also warned that long playthroughs risk conditioning gambling behavior, drawing parallels with the repetition used in “free spins” offers.
The changes come on the heels of the UKGC’s direct marketing overhaul, which requires operators to offer opt-outs across all online channels from May.
Pools loss
Numbers up: Separately, the UKGC today announced another regulatory action, this time after an investigation revealed social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures at the Football Pools.
The company will pay £375,000 to responsible gambling causes as part of its settlement.
The Commission said the company’s approach to AML risk profiling and monitoring was “insufficient” and added it was “over-reliant” on financial alerts.
While preventing significant losses, it meant it “failed to engage in a timely manner with some customers who were potentially experiencing other markers of gambling-related harm, such as time spent gambling and high-velocity spend.”
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+More
Thailand’s cabinet has approved a draft law for casinos and entertainment complexes, albeit with the expected significant proof of wealth restrictions on entry for locals. The draft law will be sent to parliament and, if passed, will also need approval from the Senate and the king. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters the details of the law were not final as parliament would have the final say.
Alberta: The Canadian province’s government has tabled proposed legislation that will create a new corporation, Alberta iGaming, to oversee the new market and put it in charge of regulation within the province. Paul Burns, CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, offered his congratulations. “The industry is excited for this next step to bring an open and competitive iGaming market to Alberta,” he added.
Croatia: The government has proposed changes to the country’s gaming regulations including a partial gambling ad ban, player tax hikes and higher licensing fees. The ad ban would be for programming between the hours of 6am-11pm while celebrity endorsements would also be outlawed. Meanwhile, the tax changes would include winnings of €1,500 being taxed at 10%, rising to 30% for any winnings above €70,000. License fees for B&M and online casinos would increase 50%, similarly retail betting shops.
Ireland: The recently formed national gambling regulator has announced plans for the formation of an industry consultation panel. The panel would discuss and advise on the framework currently being developed by the regulator. Recall, C+M wrote recently about David Hickson being the only member of GRAI, as the body is known, with experience within the gambling sector.
Sweden: The gambling authority has issued warnings and imposed penalty fees on Roar Vegas and Glitnor Services for failing to comply with their duty of care obligations under the country’s Gambling Act.
Points win prizes? A sports ‘betting’ app that allows UAE citizens to wager points rather than cash is aiming to expand into MMA and basketball after early success, its developer said. Founded by Zaid Abu Soud, a former mixed martial arts promoter, Hajem Sports is aimed at Muslims and in compliance with Shariah law, which strictly bans gambling. “We wanted to give the Arab or Muslim user a skin in the game without committing a vice,” Abu Soud told UAE newspaper, The National.
Commercial
Edge Markets, the banking-as-a-service solution designed to promote responsible gaming in the US, announced the official launch today of its Edge Boost debit card after three months in stealth mode. The debit card has already processed $300m in transactions, and Edge Markets CEO Seni Thomas said it is reshaping how bettors manage their finances in the gaming ecosystem. “Operators can only see part of the picture when it comes to a bettor’s financial habits,” Thomas added. “EDGE Boost changes that by acting as an independent, all-encompassing solution to bridge this critical gap.”
Event planning
G2E has extended its deadline for its call for speakers and panel subject submissions by a week. Anyone interested in putting forward innovative ideas can submit them here.
Compliance Analyst – Malta
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Slapshot
Inducements: BetMGM has been hit with a C$110,000 ($77k) fine by the Ontario gambling regulator having been found guilty of two instances of offering cash inducements to members of the public to encourage them to open accounts.
Show me the money: The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario or AGCO uncovered two separate incidents last year that saw marketing companies employed on behalf of BetMGM offer cash to members of the public in return for opening new BetMGM accounts.
In March last year BetMGM acknowledged that its marketing affiliate called Above the Street had engaged in prohibited inducement marketing.
The conduct resulted in 377 player sign-ups and $127,180 in commissions to Above the Street.
In April, another BetMGM marketing affiliate, Maple Leaf Marketing, engaged in prohibited inducements and marketing to induce on-site activations and acquire new players.
The conduct resulted in 94 player sign-ups and about $34,000 in commissions paid to the affiliate.
Not as seen on TV: Ontario is one of the first jurisdictions in the world to establish and enforce rules that strictly limit high-risk inducement advertising and marketing in the online gambling industry.
Registered iGaming operators are prohibited from offering gambling inducements, bonuses and credits as part of their broad public advertising and marketing activities.
The AGCO said the standards exist to “protect Ontarians from predatory advertising and promotional marketing practices in order to limit the risk of gambling-related harm.”
Protect: Karin Schnarr, CEO at the AGCO, said RG safeguards and the protection of Ontarians on registered gaming sites was one of the body’s key priorities.
“The AGCO monitors the activities of all registered operators and their third-party suppliers to ensure they are meeting our high standards, and we continue to take strong action to ensure they operate within the public interest.”
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State by state
Alaska: A bill to legalize OSB was introduced by Rep. David Nelson. HB 145 would allow for up to 10 online sports-betting licenses, with the tax rate set at 20% on adjusted gross revenue. Any operators applying for a license would need to hold a mobile sports-betting license in at least three other US states. The bill has been referred to the House Labor and Commerce and Finance committees.
Oklahoma: The sports-betting bill that includes licenses for Oklahoma tribes and the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder has passed the state Senate and now moves on to the state House. The license provided to the Thunder would be for a mobile sportsbook. The move follows recent sports-betting legislation recommendations issued by the association for the other sports-betting bills in the state legislature, SB 125 and HB 1047. Gov. Kevin Stitt has said he won’t support any bills that give tribes a monopoly.
Nebraska: OSB legislation has advanced from the state Senate’s General Affairs Committee with a six-two vote. If passed, it would authorize OSB in the state, with sportsbook operators housed at licensed racetracks.
Insta issues
Under the influence: A PokerStars Instagram ad breached responsible gambling rules around responsible play, the UK’s advertising regulator said. The December 2024 video featured influencers Rory Jennings and Adam McKola in a humorous slot machine challenge, starting with £100 ($129) budgets.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad falsely portrayed repeated wins as typical outcomes.
A line claiming “I invested £100 and five minutes later £240 because of my skill at slots” was flagged as particularly misleading, because it suggested gambling could be a reliable form of investment.
Mad skillz: Stars said the ad was published in error and pulled immediately after receiving the complaint. The company reaffirmed its commitment to responsible marketing, citing mandatory compliance training for UK campaign staff.
The case adds to growing ASA enforcement focused on gambling content involving influencers.
Legal experts said operators must strengthen internal reviews as scrutiny of social media marketing intensifies.
Finlandia
A pass: The Finnish parliament has had its say on the government’s new gambling proposals and after the first round of discussion left the re-regulation plans pretty much unaltered, according to Morten Ronde from Nordic Legal.
He noted the legislation expected to have parliament’s approval soon after the summer.
Operator license application forms are likely to be made available by the fall.
Zoom out: The actual date for the new regulatory structure to be in place, however, will have to wait until January 2027, at which point most forms of gambling, including sports betting and iCasino, will be opened up to competition.
Ronde said the “big picture” will be a licensing regime very much like its Nordic neighbors Sweden and Denmark, but with some details that are “very much Finland-specific.”
While media marketing and sponsorship will be allowed, the use of affiliates is set to be prohibited, as will the use of welcome bonuses, albeit with loyalty benefits allowed.
Meanwhile, a self-exclusion scheme from all licensed gambling will be introduced, with deposit limits and responsible gambling tools required.
A duty of care through monitoring customer behavior will be required from operators.
Events
Apr 24: The future for the UK gambling sector, London
May 8-9: Leaders in Compliance Conference, Frankfurt
May 14: Player Protection Symposium, SBC Americas, Fort Lauderdale
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