Regulation of online gambling advertising
Are you toying with the idea of starting an affiliate business in the area of providing advertising for various online casinos or gambling within the Internet environment? Then be careful and first make sure that you comply with all the requirements of the law. Otherwise, you risk negative effects on both your personal and financial circumstances.
This article was written in 2022. If you are looking for up-to-date information on this topic, please do not hesitate to contact us at office@arws.cz or by phone on +420 245 007 740. We will be happy to advise you.
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Author of the article: ARROWS (Mgr. Ondřej Cicvárek, office@arws.cz, +420 245 007 740)
What does the law say about advertising?
According to the statutory definition, advertising means an announcement, demonstration or other presentation disseminated mainly by means of the communication media, aimed at promoting business activity, in particular promoting the consumption or sale of goods, the construction, lease or sale of real estate, the sale or use of rights or obligations, the promotion of the provision of services, the promotion of a trademark, unless otherwise specified below.
Translated into plain language, advertising is any form of presentation which is open to the public and the main purpose of which is to promote the business activities of an entity.
Affiliate program in gambling. What is it and what to watch out for?
As a rule, cooperation with online gambling operators takes place through so-called affiliate programs. In this type of cooperation, you will receive your own unique link (called an affiliate link) from the gambling operator (online casino or bookmaker). With this link, consumers of your content (people who follow your social networks, videos, websites, etc.) will be able to register with the respective operator.
You will then receive some form of remuneration for each registration you receive. Typically, we are talking about paying a commission on the net profit from customers who have opened and opened an account with the operator thanks to your advertising with the link. It also involves crediting a cash bonus to your gaming account, etc.
Under these conditions, you acquire the status of an advertisement processor and distributor and are obliged to comply with the relevant legislation, in particular the aforementioned Advertising Regulation Act. In this case, you should take care not to process or distribute advertising for a gambling game operated without the relevant licence.
Is it important where and how I distribute the advertisement?
Whether you disseminate the ad on social media (Facebook, Instagram), video sharing platforms (YouTube, Twitch) or your own website has virtually no impact on your legal liability. Provided that such advertising is publicly available.
However, the choice of communication channel can potentially affect your liability directly against the operator of the media or platform you choose. Why? Because a significant number of them have set up an internal system of policies regarding the promotion and mediation of online games and gambling.
What do I face if I break the law?
If you process or disseminate an advertisement for a gambling game (online or otherwise) in breach of the law (in particular if you promote a gambling game operated without a basic licence), you are primarily at risk of being inspected by the authority competent to supervise compliance with the Advertising Regulation Act, which is, with a few exceptions, the Customs Authority.
If the customs authority finds that you have breached any of the obligations imposed on you by the law, it will initiate an offence procedure against you. In such a case, you may face a fine of up to several million crowns.
What does this mean?
Before you start working with a gambling operator, I recommend that, in view of the risk of a significant fine, you first make sure that the entity with which you are interested in entering into a contractual relationship (i.e. the gambling operator) has all the necessary permits and that the games operated by it do not fall into the category of prohibited gambling. At the same time, always check that the platform through which you intend to distribute the advertisement allows this type of promotion and, if so, under what conditions.