In Ontario’s November 2020 budget, the Government announced that a regulated gambling industry will be managed and regulated through a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).and once established, the subsidiary will manage commercial relationship between Ontario and private gambling sector operators.
Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission published a 50 page Draft Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming (“Draft Standards”) in order to ensure “that regulated entities have a sound control environment, and an organizational structure that promotes good governance, accountability and oversight, as well as transparency in dealings with the AGCO.”.
Marketing and advertising falls under the remit of the AGCO, with the regulator’s draft requirements outlining expected standards of conduct for marketing content and advertising – covering operators and affiliates. If the standards become law, they could inform legislation in other Canadian provinces which would affect operators and affiliates targeting in these provinces.
Also covered in the draft are regulations with implications for bonuses and rewards – a cornerstone of customer acquisition and retention in the gambling industry.
Summary of marketing and advertising regulations in the Draft Standards
Ads and Marketing Cannot Target the Young or Vulnerable
This will help ensure that “potentially vulnerable, underage or self-excluded persons” do not receive communications from gambling companies, nor see ads for their products.
Advertising, marketing materials and communications shall not target potentially vulnerable, underage or self-excluded persons to participate in lottery schemes; shall not include underage individuals; and shall not knowingly be distributed to at-risk players
Requirements – At a minimum, materials and communications shall not:
- Be based on themes, or use language, intended to appeal primarily to minors.
- Appear on billboards or other outdoor displays that are directly adjacent to schools or other primarily youth-oriented locations.
- Contain cartoon figures, symbols, role models, and/or celebrity/entertainer endorsers whose primary appeal is to minors.
- Use individuals who are, or appear to be, minors to promote gambling.
- Appear in media and venues, including on websites, and in digital or online media, directed primarily to minors, or where most of the audience is reasonably expected to be minors.
- Exploit the susceptibilities, aspirations, credulity, inexperience or lack of knowledge of all vulnerable persons or otherwise extol the virtues of gambling.
- Entice or attract vulnerable players. Instead, precautions shall be in place to limit marketing communications to all known vulnerable players.
Ads and Marketing Cannot Be Deceptive
Responsible gambling operators must not mislead or misrepresent gambling or the product which they offer. Gambling should never be seen as a gateway to fame, wealth or beauty, and it should not be implied that it can provide a secure source of income (in games where skill is not a factor – so this doesn’t apply to online poker).
Marketing, including advertising and promotions, shall not mislead players or misrepresent products.
Requirements – At a minimum, materials and communications shall not:
- Imply that playing a lottery scheme is required in order to fulfill family or social obligations or solve personal problems.
- Promote playing a lottery scheme as an alternative to employment, as a financial investment, or as a requirement for financial security
- Contain endorsements by well-known personalities that suggest that playing lottery schemes has contributed to their success.
- Encourage play as a means of recovering past gambling or other financial losses.
- Be designed so as to make false promises or present winning as the probable outcome.
- Imply that chances of winning increase:
- a.) The longer one plays;
- b.) The more one spends; or
- c.) Suggest that skill can influence the outcome (for games where skill is not a factor);
- Portray, suggest, condone or encourage gambling behavior that is socially irresponsible or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm.
- Suggest that gambling can provide an escape from personal, professional or educational problems such as loneliness or depression,
- Suggest that gambling can be a solution to financial concerns, an alternative to employment or a way to achieve financial security,
- Portray gambling as indispensable or as taking priority in life; for example, over family, friends or professional or educational commitments,
- Suggest that gambling can enhance personal qualities, for example, that it can improve self-image or self-esteem, or is a way to gain control, superiority, recognition or admiration,
- Suggest peer pressure to gamble nor disparage abstention,
- Link gambling to seduction, sexual success or enhanced attractiveness,
- Portray gambling in a context of toughness or link it to resilience or recklessness,
- Suggest gambling is a rite of passage, or
- Suggest that solitary gambling is preferable to social gambling.
Marketing Campaigns Cannot Induce Players to Participate
The draft standards prevent operators from running marketing campaigns and promotions that induce players to play or gamble more frequently.
Advertising and Marketing materials may not publish or communicate gambling inducements or advertisements that include an inducement to participate or to participate frequently, in any gambling activity.
Requirements: At a minimum, materials and communications shall not:
- Contain an offer of a credit, voucher, reward or other benefit, the offer of a gambling product, or the offer of a condition or other aspect of a gambling product, that includes additional benefits or enhancements.
- Contain an inducement to open a betting account or to invite another person to open a betting account; or not to close a betting account.
This could mean an end to “VIP Programs”, and loyalty programs – which will likely have a huge impact on profit margins for operators. It is unclear if in-play bonuses will be affected.
Olivia has worked as an editor and writer for major brands across multiple niches. She now focuses on the iGaming and sports betting industries.