With 18 states now officially approving sports gambling within their borders, the push is on for sportsbooks and affiliates to be able to offer their services to customers. This can be a challenge, as this is a very competitive market.
In a recent interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, David Gzesh, head of Gzesh Law Ltd, explained that there are many considerations for these affiliates if they want to gain traction in the states.
Gzesh explained that it starts with following the guidelines required by the state. There are guidelines that require any marketing companies involved with these members to provide language-related to responsible gambling and the access to 800 numbers to those with issues. He said, “I just can’t see that in the world of affiliate marketing these days,” but that it is a real thing currently.
Not every affiliate will be required to get a license in the state in which they operate, he noted. However, gaining a license is obviously to their advantage.
He told Liggero that it is important that they obtain a license in any state where they apply. “If you get bounced from one jurisdiction, you’re probably going to get bounced from anybody else you would go to later on. Someone, I’m not sure of the name of the company, was recently kicked out of New Jersey. If they’re going to try coming in anywhere else, they’re going to have a very tough road to hoe.”
While getting that piece of paper from the state can make a huge difference in success, it is the way that affiliates reach customers that is going to be the most important aspect of all. There are already going to be big players in the market, so affiliates looking to go up against the big boys may have to do things a little differently than they are used to. He added:
“They are going to have to find a way to compete. Now, the typical affiliate model historically has been, ‘We just signed the player up. We don’t know anything about them, and we don’t even know who they are.’ I think affiliates are going to have to get creative. They’re going to have to go into social media or whatever resources they can to be very good at tailoring offers to people they identified as a prospective gambler, and also they’re going to have to take a more active role than the retention of customers. They’re going to have to get a lot more touchy-feely with their customers than they have been in the past, but I think they can do it.”
Gzesh noted that he is not supplying this information as legal advice. He is simply informing of the potential challenges affiliates may face.
