Published: 17.04.2020, 15:05
3 min read
On April 3rd, 2020, Article 37 of Spain’s Royal Decree 11/2020 came into effect. This article mandates that gambling advertisements may only be broadcast between 1 A.M. – 5 A.M. In addition to this, gambling operators are prohibited from hiring celebrities to market their products. Furthermore, there is a ban on advertisements that offer free bets or odds multipliers to new customers, as this is considered by some politicians to be a predatory practice. Companies also may not participate in direct advertising via third party social media platforms.
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These changes are being put in place by Spain’s left-wing Unidas Podemos political party. The nation’s government is buckling down on online betting regulations after the wagers have tripled throughout the span of four years. The Spanish gambling lobby has estimated that bettors lose a combined total of EUR 10 billion each year. These figures are projected to increase even further, as many Spanish citizens have to remain at home during the current public health crisis. Many people are turning to online gambling, including vulnerable members of society who may have been facing a gambling addiction.
Rightlander, which is an affiliate compliance monitoring system, is working alongside Spain in order to assist the government’s gambling advertisement restrictions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company is launching a bonus tracking report, which Spanish operators will be able to use to make sure their affiliates are not promoting prohibited bonuses. The report has an algorithm that will locate any off-limits keywords. These are words that imply that gambling will make somebody’s life better, whether by improving their physical appearance, financial means, or social status. Furthermore, operators are going to receive lists of affiliates that are sending Spanish internet traffic to the venues’ international website domains.
Ian Sims, who is the creator of Rightlander.com, gave a statement regarding the tracking report. Sims said that the company possesses a thorough directory of Spanish affiliate websites, so it is in a good position to collaborate with online vendors. Because of the recent Spanish decree, many online gambling operators are employing a zero-tolerance attitude regarding affiliate networks that are breaking advertisement regulations. Operators will be able to use the tracking report to efficiently end their business relationships with these affiliates.
Rightlander’s decision to roll out a bonus tracking system for Spanish operators followed shortly after the company released a Social Responsibility Report. This report mainly focused on the company’s services within the UK and Sweden. Rightlander has released a package for operators in those areas, which will allow them to search for affiliate marketing that is targeted at minors and self-excluded gamblers. In addition to this, the package contains an algorithm that searches for unethical keywords and social media mentions. Terms such as “coronavirus” are added to the list of keywords as well, since many countries are prohibiting operators from using the COVID-19 crisis to their advantage.
