Rightlander Q and A: Player safety and the importance of compliance

With safer gambling week running from the 19th until the 25th of November and with Lottoland being shortlisted for EGR’s Safer Gambling Operator of the Year award, we thought it would be a good time to catch up with their Head of Acquisition, Stephanie Cook.

Stephanie has been working her way up the ranks in the iGaming industry over the last 10 years. Recently promoted to Head of Acquisition at Lottoland, Stephanie looks after the affiliate and marketing performance channels across the company. 

Nicole: On the topic of player safety, there are always blurred lines between the responsibility of the operator vs the responsibility of an affiliate. Do you believe its solely the responsibility of the operator?

Stephanie: Affiliates have limited visibility on player behaviour, as a result they rely heavily on the operator to provide the necessary limitations and put procedures in place to prevent problem gambling. However, affiliates do have a duty of care when promoting brands and products, ensuring that their content is appropriate and compliant.

Lottoland’s approach to compliance has developed over the years, bringing in new layers and procedures. This includes the implementation of the Rightlander software which gives the company more control over the advertising from third party affiliates. This has led to a significant decrease in non-compliant content over the years. 

The Lottoland affiliate team also have a stringent process in place checking active partners on a regular basis and internally checking creatives before they are released for use through affiliate partners. 

Nicole: Looking at the future of affiliate marketing, with tougher regulations being implemented in multiple markets including the UK, do you believe affiliate marketing can be compliant?

Stephanie: Yes, think affiliates will be compliant. There is always a risk, however having a strong long-term relationship with affiliate partners, a stringent compliance process internally and having software like Rightlander gives us more control over the content that is put out to the public. 

Nicole: Do you see more affiliates moving into grey markets and if so, what does that mean for player safety and the industry as a whole?

Stephanie: There are certainly many affiliates who have moved towards promoting in grey markets which unfortunately are not monitored in the same way as regulated markets such as the UK, which may put a player at higher risk. However, operators are still responsible to continue managing player safety responsibly even without strict guidelines such as the UK.

Summary: With player safety being at the forefront of regulation and advertising codes, it is good to see that many operators are taking the initiative to put practices into place to ensure a safe environment for their players. With software such as Rightlander now available, operators have a better chance of controlling the content being advertised in relation to their brand/s. 

Watch this Q &A on our YouTube channel. 

For more information about safer gambling week, visit https://safergamblinguk.org/sgw