Opinion & Featured
UK GAMBLING AFFILIATE MARKETING: A TIME BOMB OF LIABILITY?
Is the affiliate marketing model a time bomb of liability, at least in the UK market?
Though many have questioned the viability of affiliate marketing for reasons of oversaturation and effectiveness, perhaps the real question should be, is affiliate marketing worth the risk in terms of liability?
But first, lets just take a look at some of the other fundamental problems with the gambling affiliate marketing industry.
Regulation, regulation, regulation:
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that over the last year, the world’s biggest regulated gambling market, the UK, has witnessed the start of a draconian crackdown on everything related to gambling.
In particular, marketing has come under unprecedented scrutiny, with the ASA proving themselves more than willing to ban adverts due to single complaints and flimsy arguments. But, in reality, no matter how misguided individual ASA rulings may appear to be (see HAS THE UK’S ASA LOST THE PLOT? MONOPOLY CASINO ADVERT BANNED), they must be seen against a wider backdrop of rapidly increasing public and political hostility to the gambling industry as a whole.
While the UK had already been going in this direction for some time, changes in other parts of Europe have been more surprising. From Italy deciding to ban gambling advertising and sponsorships completely, to the strict new regime in Sweden – something that appears to have caught many operators and affiliates off guard.
True, looking across the Atlantic, a vast new market is slowly opening up as individual US states legalise sports betting and online gaming, but it would be unwise to assume those markets will necessarily remain regulation-light for long (see AMERICAN GAMING ASSOCIATION PUBLISHES RESPONSIBLE MARKETING CODE FOR SPORTS WAGERING).
The point is that while its easy to keep ratcheting up restrictions, it is difficult to see a realistic situation in which they will ever be liberalised again. Basically, if you think things are strict now, they are only going to get a lot tighter.
And, given that many affiliates are already struggling to keep compliant, that doesn’t bode well for the future.
Oversaturation and a savvier market
Okay. So, as many will argue, compliance tech services, education and professionalism can counter the effects of tighter regulations. Well, maybe they can mitigate them. But, they can’t mitigate the effects of oversaturation and an increasingly sophisticated and savvy market.
Do affiliate marketers really, genuinely believe that people who’ve grown up with the internet are going to continue to fall for their fake reviews and comparison sites, for their woolly non-objective sales pitch type content? It might have worked on Boomers and Gen X, but will it wash with Millennials and Gen Z? Of course it won’t.
Sure, most affiliate marketers today know the buzzwords, and claim to be using social media etc to drive engagement, but few are really pulling it off. After all, time is now the most valuable commodity, and people will only engage if they really want to and feel they will get something out of it on their terms.
The truth is most affiliate marketing content simply doesn’t offer people anything of real value. Besides, social media platforms are also increasingly wary of letting people market things like gambling, no matter how indirectly.
The very fact that so many affiliates still cling to email marketing like some sort of child’s ‘security blanky’ really does speak volumes about how deluded many in the industry still are. Really, this is just denial now. Even before GDPR email marketing was a shadow of its former self.
People can argue all they like about writing better emails and the intricacies of open rates etc, but come on! Let’s be real. The vast majority of emails either don’t make it into inboxes at all, or go straight to junk folders, ‘not so important’ folders, or dedicated promo folders – immediately relegating them to next to useless.
Add GDPR into the mix, and the distinct likelihood of even stricter rules in the near future, and email marketing goes from being marginally useful to useless, at best, and a liability at worst.
Of course, this doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of companies and ‘experts’ out there who continue to push email marketing – and as long as they can get customers, namely affiliates, they will continue to do so. They don’t need their products to work to make money.
The real problem: liability
But these issues may pale in comparison to the liability issue.
Now, before I go further, its not the case that this liability wouldn’t exist without affiliates in the chain, but more the case that by relying so extensively on affiliate marketing, the number of companies and individuals that are potentially exposed to truly scary liabilities has been massively increased.
The UK authorities have already made it crystal clear that operators are going to be held responsible for the actions of their third-party affiliates. This, in effect, means the relationship between affiliate marketer and operator (and any intermediaries, like affiliate program managers), is much more akin to an employer-employee, or at least a franchise, in terms of responsibility and liability.
However, despite this being fact in markets like the UK, most affiliates are quite understandably reluctant to accept this. After all, they are running their own business, taking their own risks, and get none of the benefits of being an employee or franchisee.
Simply put, to ensure compliance operators effectively need 100% control over affiliates – removing the freedom and flexibility that made being an affiliate attractive in the first place.
So, basically, we have a situation where for many years, a controversial industry, employing already dubious marketing offers, has relied on a marketing system that has exacerbated potential issues and acted without fully understanding the liabilities they have been accumulating.
PPI: a warning from recent history
Critically, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that, based on precedents like the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) miss-selling scandal, and taking into account the changing social and political attitudes to gambling, in the UK at least, operators may face huge retroactively applied claims for compensation at some point in the future.
You see, despite the prevailing opinion in marketing departments across the industry going something like “as long as it was included in the Terms & Conditions, we’re covered”, nothing could be further from the truth. Again, it is the PPI crisis that provides the precedent.
Payment Protection Insurance had, for many years, been sold in the UK along with pretty much anything that was purchased on credit, from mortgages and cars to electronics. Those selling it ranged from huge global banks to small independent financial services companies, and many employed third parties agents (read ‘affiliates’).
Despite setting everything out and ‘covering themselves’ in lengthy Terms & Conditions, and despite having ‘proof’ that each customer had signed-up and confirmed they agreed to those terms (sound familiar?), the courts still decided that things were unacceptable. Critically, the courts also gave the green light for historical claims going back many years – something that has led to billions of pounds being paid out in compensation to consumers.
The key takeaway here is that banks and financial companies were forced to pay back billions in PPI compensation because the products had been “mis-sold” – not because the products were illegal per se. Agents had ‘merely’ glossed over realities, failed to adequately point to certain limitations, or even just put together products that didn’t offer the kind of value that matched customers’ perceptions.
Can anyone really argue that gambling affiliates haven’t (and still don’t), massively engage in exactly the same kind of behaviour?
Of course, with PPI claims it was also fairly simply to work out compensation. Basically, the amount a consumer paid, plus an extra bit as a ‘sorry’ for being naughty in the first place. But, thanks to that always ridiculous marketing ploy called ‘wagering requirements’ (which anyone with even a basic awareness of UK consumer rights and legal issues should have avoided like the plague in the first place), compensation claims could be catastrophic – how much did they deposit and lose to meet the wagering requirements, plus a fine for being naughty, plus how much did they win but then lose again before meeting requirements, plus did they get into financial trouble and get another loan out, or lose their car, or end up ill, or lose their wife etc. It truly is a ‘can of worms.’
Given the widespread and long-term use of what now must be considered dubious techniques, most notably wagering requirements, the potential liability for UK-facing operators alone must surely run into the many billions of pounds.
And, this means affiliate marketers are potentially on the hook every bit as much as operators.
That should be keeping CEOs and affiliate marketers awake at night.
The future
Yet, despite the glaring flaws, and rapidly increasing risks of affiliate marketing for gambling, operators continue to rely on it to drive business. Is this because most operators simply don’t have an idea of how to replace it? Or is it because they just haven’t grasped the insane liability it is exposing them to in some jurisdictions?
For me at least, the regulatory developments in the UK, and more recently Sweden, have come as no surprise. The gambling industry, which was always an obvious scapegoat, has and still is, engaged in certain business practices that are absolutely asking for trouble – the fact that it is so reliant on affiliate marketers has just magnified the potential liability it faces.
Will affiliate marketing continue in some form. Yes. Large affiliate companies can afford to professionalise and employ technology to help manage compliance. But, will it all come crashing down dramatically at some point in the near future, due to liabilities for historical marketing practices? Very likely.
Blockchain company GigLabs has announced a US$4.5 million seed round led by Dapper Labs and Panoramic Ventures.
Other investors participating in the round include Collab+Currency, Red Beard Ventures, Eterna Capital, Alumni Venture Group, Gaingels, and Amino Capital. The caliber and variety of investors participating in this round demonstrates broad support for GigLabs to be the leading provider of infrastructure for brands, creators and collectors to build memorable experiences through NFTs.
“At GigLabs, we firmly believe that every brand will have an NFT strategy in the future,” said Douglas Dimola, CEO and co-founder of GigLabs. “This funding enables us to expand the talent of our team to continue expanding our offerings to meet current and future demand, while also working with the best and brightest partners to continue to push this new innovation forward.”
NFTs have increased in popularity with the market reaching billions in trading and sales volume. As NFTs continue to rapidly see mainstream adoption, with major sports leagues, media outlets and prestige auction houses participating in projects, brands are increasingly seeking to get involved—but they need reliable partners to navigate the significant technical complexities when integrating NFT projects into enterprise level organizations.
GigLabs’ technology is championed by some of the biggest names in entertainment, giving customers access to emergent Web3 innovations. GigLabs’ solutions enable brands and creators to launch new NFT projects with customizable branded storefronts and marketplaces, as well as metaverse experiences for their communities. In addition, GigLabs has pioneered transferring NFTs to fans while at live events, all through a QR code.
GigLabs’ platform allows enterprise brands to build lasting relationships with consumers and create customized and personalized experiences through NFTs that live on the Flow blockchain. Major brand partners supported by the GigLabs platform include CNN, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report, Speedway Motorsports’ RaceDay NFT—the first-ever NASCAR-related NFT, University of Miami’s Canes Vault, Athletes Unlimited and others. This funding round will allow the company to build out its team and scale to accelerate customer growth.
“GigLabs continues to impress through the team’s ability to develop the technology solutions needed for any brand to build a powerful NFT experience,” said Roham Gharegozlou, CEO of Dapper Labs. “It’s awesome to see the world’s leading brands building on Flow and supercharging their connection to consumers.”
“Sometimes the magic is making it simple to do something complex. GigLabs takes a transformative technology and makes it accessible to companies, organizations and brands of all sizes,” said Paul Judge, Managing Partner of Panoramic Ventures. “We believe in the power of NFTs to combine content, culture, and community and we’re enthusiastic to back GigLabs on this journey.”
GigLabs has built multiple solutions to not only bring brands into the world of NFTs but also to provide onramps into the much broader metaverse. These include NFT Bridge, which is the company’s whitelabeled solution for brands and creators to launch customizable NFT marketplaces directly on their own websites.
The platform also includes a solution that allows for frictionless claiming of NFTs via a QR code while attending live events, a novel way to blend fandom in the physical and virtual worlds. GigLabs has also built RareRooms, a 3D/VR enabled metaverse that allows collectors to curate and showcase their NFTs as well as allow brands to have amazing virtual storefronts and customizable spaces that allow their fans to truly experience their NFTs. Nearly 10,000 RareRooms have been created to display unique, curated sets of NFTs by collectors.
US-based gaming lifestyle brand XSET has partnered with Monster Mash for a Halloween NFT collaboration.
The partnership will see several XSET players feature as creatures on Monster Mash, which is home to 10,000 randomly generated monsters drawn by artist Vance Kelly. Each of the XSET branded digital ghouls is made up of over 400 traits and will haunt the Ethereum blockchain for eternity.
“Monster Mash has been making a lot of noise in the NFT space, who doesn’t like Monsters right?” said Greg Selkoe, co-founder and CEO of XSET. “So we decided to make this XSET’s first NFT collab. We know that the fans of both brands are going to be excited to collect these super-rare pieces.”
“I think it’s really exciting to be working with XSET to add another integral layer to the Monster Mash brand with the inclusion of XSET’s players as some of the Monsters themselves. It widens our Monster universe and brings it into today’s cultural world,” says Hugo Stevenson, founder and CEO of Road Crates, Inc.
Owners of Monster NFTs are able to access the metaverse members-only world of MM Express, featuring a creative community platform for building new monsters for future air drops, live, in-person events, killer merchandise, and much more. Each unique NFT is stored as ERC-721 tokens on the Ethereum Blockchain and hosted on IPFS, and can be purchased for 0.08 ETH + gas fees.
According to XSET, the branded monster NFTs are just the first of a number of upcoming initiatives, with more details to be announced in the near future.
Staying with XSET, earlier this month, the brand announced the beta launch of StreamJ, a new digital rights management (DRM) and license-free music platform specifically designed for gaming streamers and creators.
Sipher, a gaming studio that pioneers blockchain technology, has announced the closure of its US$6.8 million seed round, co-led by Arrington Capital, Hashed and Konvoy Ventures.
The funding will be used to accelerate the development of its upcoming World of Sipheria game and continue to build the tools needed to create compelling, fun and engaging gaming experiences based on blockchain technology.
In addition to the leading backers, Sipher further attracted the participation of backers including Defiance Capital, Signum Capital, Dragonfly Capital, CMT Digital, BITKRAFT Ventures, Delphi Digital, Alameda Research, Fenbushi Capital, Sfermion, Hyperchain, GBV, Kyber Network, Coin98 Ventures, YGG and Merit Circle. The company also welcomed notable angels including Holly Liu (Kabam), Kun Gao (Crunchy Roll) and Alex Svanevik (Nansen.ai).
Founded by prominent Vietnamese CEO Nguyen Trung Tin, who counts accolades such as inclusion on Forbes’ prestigious 30-Under-30 list upon an enviable CV, and has set Sipher on a mission to unify state of the art blockchain tech, artwork, storytelling, multiplayer gaming with decentralized financial technologies.
The company’s vision is to create an expansive world that will attract and keep the player base engaged for years to come as new worlds, characters and factions are introduced. Sipher is fostering an ecosystem where people can play for fun while also being rewarded for their time spent in-game. By leveraging blockchain technology, Sipher is bringing economic freedom to gamers and providing the community with ownership of in-game assets which directly contributes to the growth and success of the gaming industry.
“First and foremost, games are meant to be fun,” Tin says. “They are meant to be social. They are meant to invigorate, excite and bring people together for a common purpose, to enjoy time spent with each other. This is true for the most classic and for the most futurist of games. This is what makes games the most powerful medium for sharing and discovering amazing moments together.”
Backer Jason Chapman of Konvoy Ventures agrees, saying: “Gaming is the new social square and is driving the development of global culture. Tin and the whole Sipher team are helping pioneer a new wave within this social arena, one where players are rewarded for their time, performance, and creativity. Gaming has always been home to creators, thinkers, and competitors and it is time that we see games show their communities financial loyalty. There are more than 3 billion people playing games across the globe and less than 0.1% of gamers are experiencing direct profit sharing. Sipher is renegotiating what players should expect from their games and is here to bring joy to their players both through entertainment and financial freedom. The whole Konvoy team is thrilled to be in Sipher’s corner as we build this new era of games.”
This community spirit is echoed in the huge uptake of Sipher’s Discord community, which already numbers over 60,000, and in the enthusiastic response to its early character launches. Siphers’s first playable NFT character, Sipherian Surge, was a drop of 10,000 genesis Sipher Inu NFTs were bought in less than 15 minutes and are now available for trading and secondary purchase on OpenSea.
Sipher’s next priority is launching the playable MVP of the first gaming experience in the World of Sipheria. The experience will introduce a cooperative dungeon game mode that will onboard new waves of native and non-native blockchain users through beautiful design and graphics, compelling gameplay, expansive world lore hidden with secrets to be discovered and the ability to take part in the game economy. It is also preparing to release its second collection called the Sipherian Flash, a drop of 10,000 limited Sipher Nekos as playable characters.
Excited by the prospects Sipher offers, backer Michael Arrington of Arrington Capital stated: “We believe that the world of Sipheria will be one of the most exciting and adventurous experiences inside the Metaverse. Sipher builds on innovative P2E economics while leveraging both the spirit of crypto culture and mainstream gaming. The art blends a futuristic world of sci-fi and captivating animals, it is internet-native and inspiring, a game that everyone can fall in love with. We believe that Metaverse gaming will unlock a new economic frontier where users can reap the rewards of their time and creativity, and we fundamentally believe in the passion and energy behind Tin and his team. We believe that Sipher is positioned to capture and captivate users across all regions of the world. We are excited to back Sipher and join the world of Sipheria.”
Endorsing these sentiments and stating his faith in the Sipher team and its leadership, co-investor Kyuntae Ethan Kim, Managing Partner of Hashed, who said: “Since 2018, Hashed has been actively investing in blockchain games and metaverse with our strong thesis on virtual worlds. We think the virtual world economy will be much bigger than that of the real world thanks to the blockchain infrastructure providing a key backbone for digital assets. Tin and his team have demonstrated huge potential to become the next major blockchain gaming studio. They not only understand the crypto/blockchain ecosystem, but also have strong ability to implement great quality games. They know the beauty of combining NFT and gaming and have plans to connect esports in their game eventually. I am so excited to co-lead this round and can’t wait to see Sipher’s community grow rapidly.”
AYO.NEWS says:
For years, the dreams of metaverse gaming have been held back by technological limitations and the hesitancy of the mainstream gaming community, but with blockchain now mature and more widely accepted, and investment flowing into the sector, a new revolution really is beginning.
OnChain Studios has announced a US$7.5M seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Draper & Associates, CoinFund, Sound Ventures, Dapper Labs, Collab + Currency, WndrCo, and other notable investors.
The NFT studio’s flagship project, Cryptoys, will be launching soon on Flow, and will offer the first-ever fully interactive NFT (non-fungible token) digital toys. In addition to being able to buy, sell, and collect Cryptoys, consumers will also be able to play with them inside an immersive world built on the blockchain. To add depth, each Cryptoy can gain more capabilities as it’s played with more often, continually unlocking new experiences.
Will Weinraub, CEO and Co-Founder of OnChain Studios, explained: “What started off as a side project for my daughter has turned into this amazing company, and I feel blessed to be building it with such an incredible team. The rise of NFTs and blockchain allows us to create new revolutionary experiences that have never been done before. With Cryptoys we are building a rich, expansive world that combines elements of entertainment, gaming, and toys into an experience customers can truly own and take with them forever.”
Arianna Simpson, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz, added: “Cryptoys is a perfect example of the compelling new NFT gaming and entertainment experiences that are now possible with the advent of web3 — a fully-interactive 3D universe with custom toys for each participant. We’re thrilled to partner with the world-class team at OnChain Studios to bring Cryptoys to life and introduce the joys of NFT gaming to mainstream audiences.”
The first series of drops will consist of an original line of characters, with the Cryptoys universe then expanding from there. The company says “a number of well-known brands” are also looking into ways to leverage the full-stack Cryptoys platform to turn their IP into NFT-based interactive digital toys.
In addition to NFT toys, OnChain Studios is also building an open world experience called The Cryptoyverse, which will allow users to play with their toys in a digital environment, with P2E (play-to-earn) mechanics.
The Cryptoys platform is being built on Flow, the fast, easy-to-use, open blockchain with the biggest and fastest growing NFT marketplace.
Award Pool, the integrated platform that empowers brands, influencers and content creators to power up, grow, and engage communities with gamified play and NFT rewards, has reported “explosive” growth with 115,000 new users signing up and two million page views since its beta launch on 30 September, 2021.
According to the platform, this growth highlights the early success and future potential of the platform and its ability to help brands and content creators gamify campaigns with social and in-game challenges catered to their communities.
In addition, Award Pool will be launching The So.co Challenge, Music Reimagined! as the result of a previously announced partnership with So.co, a curated, image-based media platform that celebrates music, the related lifestyle, and associated cultural content. Together, Award Pool and So.co will promote a new opportunity for connecting musicians with fans by having them participate in challenges to earn points and NFT rewards, which will redefine the best strategies for audience growth and activation.
Reuven Cohen, Founder and CEO of Award Pool, commented:“We are excited to see such opportunity and growth with the Award Pool beta and look forward to offering such opportunities to our partners and clients.”
Award Pool is primarily designed to appeal to digital natives, particularly Gen Z, who appreciate both physical and digital rewards. Because this group doesn’t engage as frequently with traditional advertising channels, brands are having a difficult time connecting in a meaningful way. Award Pool solves this dilemma through its innovative new platform that allows users to participate in challenges, earn points, and redeem non-fungible token (NFT) prizes through an easy-to-use tool.
Award Pool has several additional upcoming challenges, including a partnership with the FC Tulsa football club. Fans will be asked to complete tasks, such as following the club’s profiles on social media and visiting specific pages on the team’s website, for a chance to win valuable NFTs and other prizes.
On 18 October, Crypto Gaming United (CGU) joined Australia-based crypto exchange TimeX, and raised $2.5M in a record-breaking six seconds of public token trading.
Co-founded by Russian-born cryptocurrency, DeFi, and blockchain app entrepreneur Sergei Sergienko, CGU operates on the principles of uber-economy. Instead of players spending money to buy their initial NFT characters, they rent them from the platform in exchange for a share of their daily income. At the same time, the games themselves reward players with income proportionate to their in-game skill and performance.
Before the final open market sale of tokens, CGU had already raised $5M and $10M in seed and pre-IDO rounds respectively. The tokens released during those rounds are subject to a blocking period, with a 3-year rights transfer schedule, meaning that CGU tokens are now only available on the secondary market.
In total, 10 million CGU tokens were made available for sale, priced at $0.25 each. Just six seconds after the market opened, all were sold.
Commenting on the sale, CGU Co-Founder, Sergei Sergienko, said: “Success of every project is always measured by the market. We never expected the demand to be high enough to sell all the tokens in under 6 seconds. This makes it even more pleasant to realize the importance of the gaming crypto platform CGU to the market, and to feel the support coming from the project’s community.”
According to the token emission prospect, the next step for CGU is to increase the number of active players on the platform to the 100,000 mark, while also creating and developing CGU and DAO communities for the project.
Overall, Crypto Gaming United, has now raised $17.5M over three investment rounds, and the total volume of CGU’s emission is 1 billion tokens, 26% of which belong to investors.
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