Affiliate marketing compliance in iGaming: liability, ad codes and commission rules

In every major regulated market, the licensed operator is legally responsible for what its affiliates publish, so affiliate compliance is an operator problem first. A growing number of markets also regulate affiliates directly: New Jersey and Ontario require them to register or hold a licence, Germany bans revenue-share pay for online casino advertising, and Australia’s reforms ban activity-based affiliate commissions from 2027.

This page sets out who is liable, which advertising codes apply to affiliate content, where affiliates need a licence, and where the commission model itself is restricted, with rules dated as of October 2026. It is written for operators running affiliate programmes and for affiliates working across several markets. For the wider licensing picture, start with our licensing hub.

Who is liable when an affiliate breaks the rules?

In Great Britain the operator is. Social responsibility code provision 1.1.2 of the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) makes licensees responsible for the third parties they contract with for licensed activities, and the Commission’s guidance says the licensee is “primarily responsible” for an affiliate’s breaches, including marketing sent to self-excluded people.

That allocation of risk shapes the whole relationship. A licensee cannot argue that an affiliate acted independently, because the Commission judges whether the operator took “all reasonable steps”. Its guidance warns that a single point of failure, such as one staff error, is unlikely to meet that test, and that action may be taken against the business, its personal management licence holders, or both.

Three LCCP provisions matter most for affiliate programmes:

• Social responsibility code 1.1.2 (responsibility for third parties): the operator must make its contracts and monitoring strong enough to keep affiliates compliant.
• Social responsibility code 3.5.3: no marketing to self-excluded customers, including through third parties; affiliates holding their own email lists must suppress self-excluded people.
• Condition 16.1.1 (responsible placement of digital adverts): operators must not place adverts on sites offering unauthorised access to copyrighted content, must take reasonable steps to stop third parties doing so, and must hold contractual rights to end the arrangement promptly.

Direct marketing by affiliates also falls under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office. The same model, operator liability backed by contract, is used in Ontario, the Netherlands and Sweden, which is why the larger enforcement cases are brought against operators even when the advert was published by a partner.

Which advertising codes apply to affiliate content in the UK?

Affiliate websites, social posts and emails that promote gambling are marketing communications, so the CAP Code (non-broadcast) and BCAP Code (broadcast), administered by the Advertising Standards Authority, apply to them in full. Since 1 October 2022, CAP rule 16.3.12 has banned gambling marketing with a “strong appeal” to under-18s, a stricter test than the earlier “particular appeal” standard.

The strong-appeal rule changed what affiliates can publish. Content that is likely to be strongly appealing to children, whatever the audience actually is, now breaches the code: that includes many sports stars, social media personalities and cartoon or video-game styles. Other rules in section 16 of the CAP Code that affiliates often meet include:

• no portrayal of gambling as a way to solve financial problems or as an alternative to employment;
• no one who is, or seems to be, under 25 may play a significant role;
• no suggestion that gambling enhances personal qualities or social standing;
• marketing must not exploit the susceptibilities of vulnerable people or encourage irresponsible play.

The ASA can rule against the affiliate, the operator, or both, and its sanctions include ad removal, adverse publicity and referral to the Gambling Commission. Bonus wording also changed for licensed operators in 2026: from 19 January 2026, promotions in Great Britain may not combine more than one gambling product and wagering requirements are capped at 10 times the bonus, so affiliate copy describing older multi-product offers has to be refreshed. More on the Commission’s wider role is in our UK Gambling Commission guide.

The regulatory picture looked very different in 2013, when this site covered operators planning their first British television campaigns and asked whether mobile affiliates were keeping up with app traffic. Both questions now come with a rulebook attached.

Do gambling affiliates need a licence?

It depends on the market. As of October 2026, Great Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany do not license affiliates separately and regulate them through the operator. New Jersey requires vendor registration or an Ancillary Casino Service Industry Enterprise licence depending on how the affiliate is paid, and Ontario requires affiliates to register with the AGCO as gaming-related suppliers.

New Jersey’s line is drawn by compensation, not by traffic volume. In a May 2024 order, the Division of Gaming Enforcement allowed a US affiliate to withdraw its Ancillary CSIE application and step down to vendor registration once it confirmed it would work only on CPA or fixed-fee deals. Sub-affiliates working under a master affiliate are covered too, so a network cannot keep revenue share off the books by passing it down a tier.

Which markets restrict how affiliates are paid?

Germany and Australia restrict the commission model itself. Section 5(6) of the GlüStV 2021 bans any variable pay, “in particular” revenue-, deposit- or stake-based, for online advertising, “in particular in the form of affiliate links”, of games that excluded players may not join. Australia’s Gambling Reform Bill, passed on 19 August 2026, bans activity-based affiliate commissions, with most measures applying from 1 January 2027.

The German rule reaches further than it first appears. Players registered in OASIS may not take part in virtual slots, online poker, online casino games or sports betting at German-licensed operators, so the ban covers almost every product an affiliate would promote. Flat fees per placement or per month remain possible; on the statute’s wording, a CPA triggered by a first deposit is deposit-dependent pay and therefore caught.

The same affiliate deal lands very differently by market. Take a hypothetical programme paying 30% revenue share on net gaming revenue, or 100 EUR CPA per depositing player, or a fixed 2,000 EUR monthly listing fee:

For affiliates, the practical effect is a shift from performance contracts to fixed media buys in the restricted markets, with the commercial risk moving from the operator to the publisher. Operators running one global programme typically need market-specific contract schedules so that German and Australian traffic is paid on a different basis.

What did the Netherlands change in 2023?

From 1 July 2023, the Netherlands banned untargeted advertising for online gambling: no television, radio, outdoor or print campaigns aimed at the general public. Advertising is still allowed in channels where operators can exclude minors and vulnerable people, such as their own sites and targeted online placements. Role models, including athletes and influencers, may no longer appear in gambling ads.

The Kansspelautoriteit treated sponsorship separately. Contracts signed before 1 July 2023 could run on for television programmes and events until 1 July 2024, and for sports clubs, competitions and kit until 1 July 2025; no new agreements could be signed after 1 July 2023, and existing ones could not be extended. For affiliates, the targeting test matters most: an open comparison site or a social account with a young audience can fall on the wrong side of it, and the licensee whose brand appears is answerable for the recruitment.

How does Sweden police affiliates and media sites?

Sweden has no affiliate licence, but the Spellag bans promoting gambling that is offered in Sweden without a Swedish licence, and Spelinspektionen enforces that directly against Swedish publishers. On 17 December 2025, decision 25Si2175 ordered a Swedish media company, under a 130,000 kronor fine, to stop running banners for two unlicensed casino brands.

The decision matters because it reached a domestic publisher, not an offshore operator. Affiliates based in Sweden or targeting Swedish users need to check every brand they list against Spelinspektionen’s licence register; listing a brand with a Malta or Curaçao licence does not help if the site targets Sweden without a Swedish one, as the regulator’s ban on Claymore Malta on 8 January 2026 showed. Marketing for licensed brands must also be moderate, and licensees may offer a bonus only on the first occasion a customer plays (chapter 14, section 9 of the Spellag), which limits the welcome-offer copy affiliates can use.

What rules does Spain apply after the 2024 Supreme Court rulings?

Spain’s Royal Decree 958/2020 of 3 November 2020 still governs gambling advertising, but in April 2024 the Tribunal Supremo annulled six provisions for lack of statutory cover, including the welcome-bonus ban (article 13(1) and (3)), the ban on well-known personalities (article 15) and the social media restrictions (article 26(2) and (3)). The 1:00 to 5:00 broadcast window was upheld.

The judgments of 2, 4 and 19 April 2024 also struck out article 23(1), the general limit on advertising through information-society services, and article 25(3) on video-sharing platforms. That does not leave online advertising unregulated: the rest of the decree, the protection of minors and the general consumer law continue to apply, and the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego still holds operators responsible for the communications of those acting for them. Affiliates working the Spanish market should read the consolidated BOE text, which marks each annulled paragraph.

What does German law say about advertising times and athletes?

Section 5(3) of the GlüStV 2021 bans broadcast and internet advertising for virtual slots, online poker and online casino games every day between 6:00 and 21:00. The same subsection bans sports betting adverts on the broadcasting channel immediately before or during a live broadcast of that event, and bans sports betting advertising featuring active athletes and officials.

Live in-play scores may not be combined with advertising for bets on the same event (section 5(6)), except on the betting operator’s own site. Licences issued by the GGL add conditions on top; German courts have upheld licence terms that set conditions for affiliate marketing, which in practice means an affiliate site must carry the required information and promote only operators on the GGL whitelist. Unlicensed brands are a serious risk: German enforcement in 2025 took 1,843 illegal sites offline and cut 178 off from payments. Country context is in our European markets overview.

How far does Italy’s advertising ban reach?

Italy bans gambling advertising almost entirely. Article 9 of Decree-Law 87/2018, the “Decreto Dignità”, prohibits any form of advertising for games or bets with cash winnings, including on the internet and through sponsorship, and AGCOM enforces it with fines. Affiliate content that functions as promotion for licensed Italian brands falls within the ban.

The ban is broader than in any other large European market, so Italian affiliate activity has shifted to informational content that avoids calls to action and bonus promotion. Whether a given page counts as advertising is judged on its effect, not its label, which makes Italy the riskiest European market for comparison-site models.

What does Ontario require from operators and affiliates?

Ontario’s AGCO requires marketing affiliates to register as gaming-related suppliers and applies its advertising standards to them as well as to operators. Since 28 February 2024, active and retired athletes may not appear in Ontario igaming advertising except solely to promote responsible gambling, and individuals likely to appeal to minors are also barred.

Ontario also bans publicly communicated advertising of inducements, bonuses and credits: offers may be shown on the operator’s own site or to customers who have opted in, but not in open advertising. Marketing must not target high-risk, underage or self-excluded people, including those registered with iGaming Ontario’s centralised self-exclusion service. Affiliates working the province therefore run bonus-free comparison content in public channels and keep offer details behind the operator’s own pages.

How does Australia regulate affiliates?

Australia attacks affiliates from two sides. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes advertising prohibited interactive gambling services an offence, and the ACMA has used its powers to have internet providers block affiliate sites that link to illegal casinos. For licensed wagering, the reform bill passed on 19 August 2026 ends activity-based affiliate pay, with most measures from 1 January 2027.

Live-odds and in-play promotion had already been restricted in Australia’s broadcasting codes long before this, and as early as 2013 South Australia was moving against live betting ads during matches, a debate this site covered at the time. The 2027 package shifts attention from what affiliates say to how they are paid, which removes the incentive model behind most performance marketing in the licensed market. Operators with Australian programmes need to restructure contracts before the start date.

How do the rules compare across markets?

The main affiliate rules in force or adopted as of October 2026 fall into three groups: content codes (what an advert may say and show), channel and timing limits (where and when it may run), and commercial rules (how the affiliate may be paid or must be approved). Few markets combine all three, which is why cross-border programmes need market-level controls.

What should an affiliate check before listing a brand?

Before promoting any operator, an affiliate should confirm that the brand holds a licence for every market its content targets, by checking the regulator’s own register rather than the operator’s footer. A licence from one country does not authorise marketing in another: the Court of Justice confirmed in C-440/23 on 16 April 2026 that a Malta licence does not replace a German permit.

A short pre-listing check covers most of the risk:

• Licence by market: the brand appears on the register of each target market, such as the GGL whitelist, Spelinspektionen’s licence list or the AGCO’s registered operators.
• Licence status: offshore licences need care too; in Curaçao, licences under the LOK, in force since 24 December 2024, are verified on the Curaçao Gaming Authority’s register at cga.cw.
• Enforcement history: any ban or warning naming the operating company, since regulators such as Spelinspektionen publish their decisions by company.
• Offer terms: bonus wording checked against the target market’s rules before it is published, not copied from another market’s page.
• Contract basis: the payment model allowed in that market, recorded in the deal schedule.

Our pages on Curaçao licensing and the markets hub explain how to read each register.

What disclosure must an affiliate make?

An affiliate must make clear that its content is advertising when it is paid to promote a brand. In the UK, CAP rule 2.1 requires marketing communications to be obviously identifiable as such, and in the US the FTC’s Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) require clear disclosure of any material connection between a publisher and the brand it recommends.

In the EU, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive bans presenting paid promotion as independent editorial content, and national regulators apply it to comparison sites and influencers. Good practice across markets is a short, visible statement near the first affiliate link, not only a footer note, plus labels such as “ad” on social posts. Disclosure does not cure other breaches: a clearly labelled advert can still fail the UK strong-appeal test or Germany’s daytime ban.

What should an operator’s affiliate compliance programme include?

A defensible programme combines contract terms, onboarding checks, live monitoring and a fast route to remove content or terminate. Regulators in Great Britain, Ontario and the Netherlands expect operators to show these controls working, not just written down, because liability for affiliate content sits with the licensee.

1. Onboarding due diligence: identity of the affiliate and its owners, the sites and channels it will use, target markets and any licence or registration needed (New Jersey, Ontario).
2. Market schedules in the contract: permitted payment models per market (no variable pay for German traffic, no activity-based pay in Australia from 2027), approved creative and banned techniques.
3. Suppression lists: self-excluded and opted-out customers removed from any affiliate-held marketing data, with audit rights.
4. Creative approval: pre-clearance of bonus wording against current rules, such as the 10x wagering cap and single-product rule in Great Britain since 19 January 2026.
5. Monitoring: regular crawling of affiliate sites and social accounts for outdated offers, appeal to minors, missing safer gambling messages and placement on infringing sites.
6. Termination rights: contractual power to remove content within hours and end the relationship, as condition 16.1.1 already requires for infringing-site placements.
7. Payment controls: commissions withheld on traffic from markets where the operator is not licensed, so that a programme does not reward promotion of unlicensed play.

Responsible gambling duties run through these controls; see our page on responsible gambling requirements. Affiliates are also exposed when payouts route through high-risk payment chains, a point covered in the AML and KYC guide. Abbreviations such as CPA, NGR and CSIE are explained in the glossary.

Frequently asked questions

Can an operator blame an affiliate for a non-compliant advert?

Not in Great Britain. LCCP social responsibility code 1.1.2 makes licensees responsible for the third parties they contract with, and the Gambling Commission treats the operator as primarily responsible for affiliate breaches unless it can show it took all reasonable steps.

Is revenue share legal for German casino affiliates?

No for online advertising of products that excluded players may not use. Section 5(6) of the GlüStV 2021 bans variable pay, in particular revenue-, deposit- or stake-based pay, for internet advertising such as affiliate links. Fixed fees remain possible.

Which affiliates need a New Jersey licence?

Every affiliate promoting New Jersey online gambling needs approval from the Division of Gaming Enforcement. Flat-fee affiliates file a vendor registration; those paid revenue share, or pay tied to deposits or wagers, need an Ancillary Casino Service Industry Enterprise licence, and sub-affiliates are covered too.

When does Australia’s affiliate commission ban start?

The Gambling Reform Bill passed on 19 August 2026, and most of its measures, including the ACMA-described ban on activity-based affiliate commissions, apply from 1 January 2027. Fixed-fee arrangements are not activity-based.

Can Ontario affiliates advertise casino bonuses?

Not in public advertising. The AGCO bans publicly communicated inducements, bonuses and credits; offers may appear on the operator’s own site or be sent to players who have consented. Affiliates must also be registered as gaming-related suppliers.

Does Spain still ban welcome bonuses in advertising?

No. In April 2024 the Tribunal Supremo annulled article 13(1) and (3) of Royal Decree 958/2020, the provisions behind the welcome-bonus ban, along with the celebrity and social media restrictions. The 1:00 to 5:00 broadcast window remains.

Do affiliates have to disclose commissions?

Yes, wherever content is paid promotion. The UK CAP Code rule 2.1 requires marketing to be obviously identifiable, the US FTC Endorsement Guides require disclosure of material connections, and EU consumer law bans disguising paid promotion as independent editorial.