For better or worse, affiliates have long been an integral part of the online poker industry. They help attract potential customers to the online poker rooms and often, in turn, provide additional rewards to the players. Some even go so far as to go to bat for their players should there be a dispute with a poker room. But in most of the regulatory talks about online gambling around the globe, there is rarely any discussion about theses affiliates, where they fit in, and what sorts of regulations should apply to them. According to GamblingInsider.com, affiliates will have to be very patient as they won’t be addressed any time soon.
GamblingInsider reported last week that Remote Gambling Association (RGA) Chief Executive Clive Hawkswood said that affiliate regulation hasn’t been a topic for two main reasons: a) there are other, more important, regulatory issues ahead of affiliates in line, and b) legislators need to be educated first.
In speaking on a panel at the Betting on Sports Conference in London, Hawkswood said, “As regulators have gradually started licensing across Europe, affiliates have been treated as a secondary issue. Because they’re not that well informed about the industry, most regulators haven’t grasped how important and central affiliates are to the industry.”
Think about it. While, say, members of the Nevada Gaming Commission might be knowledgeable about online gambling, most politicians and lawmakers in other states and in countries around the world don’t really know anything about the industry. It is complicated enough to understand online gambling when starting from zero; having to then get a grasp on how affiliates come into play can just be too much.
Hawkswood continued:
While they’re getting to grips with what you might say are the bigger issues, they’re starting to move down on to that next level. The Gambling Commission very recently published what was almost like a catch-up discussion paper on virtual currencies, eSports and social gaming. The next time they do one of these discussion papers, they will try to pull together issues they currently don’t have enough confidence talking about, which affiliates could be dragged into.
Tackle the most important aspects of online gambling, then drill down to the secondary and tertiary topics. Affiliates certainly play a key role in the industry, but there are more significant issues that need to be handled first.
Interestingly, Hawkswood said he is not in favor of affiliate regulation via legislation, saying, “….once they’ve got their claws into you, there will be no end to it.”
Instead, he prefers affiliates to setup a trade association and essentially self-regulate. Now, that might raise some eyebrows – mine included – but regulatory methods such as this have worked in other industries. I, personally, would prefer at least some official, legislative regulation to cover the key issues and maybe allow a trade association to flesh out lots of the other details. No matter how it is done, the online poker industry will be better off if effective affiliate regulation gets put in place.
