Latest News
AGCO to ban athletes in Ontario’s igaming advertising to protect minors
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has updated the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming to prohibit the use of athletes in internet gaming (igaming) advertising and marketing in Ontario. The standards have also been strengthened to restrict the use of celebrities who would likely be expected to appeal to minors. These new restrictions will come into effect on February 28, 2024.
Following the first year of Ontario’s open, regulated igaming market, the AGCO identified advertising and marketing approaches that use athletes, as well as celebrities with an appeal to minors, as a potential harm to those under the legal gaming age and is taking this step to reduce the risk. In April 2023, the AGCO held consultations on its proposal to ban such ads and received submissions from a broad range of stakeholders including mental health and public health organizations, responsible gambling experts, gaming operators, broadcast and marketing groups, and the public.
Following these consultations, the AGCO has determined that prohibiting the use of athletes and restricting celebrity endorsements would help safeguard children and youth who can be particularly susceptible to such advertising content.
The amended standards will prohibit registered Ontario igaming operators from using athletes, whether active or retired, in igaming marketing and advertising, except for the exclusive purpose of advocating for responsible gambling practices. These amended standards also restrict the use of celebrities, role models, social media influencers, entertainers, cartoon figures, and symbols that “would likely be expected to appeal to minors”. This broadens and strengthens the existing standard that, prior to this change, prohibited the use of advertising and marketing content with a “primary appeal to minors”.
“Children and youth are heavily influenced by the athletes and celebrities they look up to,” said Tom Mungham, Registrar and CEO, AGCO. “We’re therefore increasing measures to protect Ontario’s youth by disallowing the use of these influential figures to promote online betting in Ontario.”
Additional Information
As part of its mandate, the AGCO monitors and identifies emerging risks in the sectors it regulates and updates its standards to address them.
The additions to the AGCO Standards for Internet Gaming, which come into effect February 28, 2024, are bolded and underlined below.
2.03 – Advertising, marketing materials and communications shall not target high-risk, underage or self-excluded persons to participate in lottery schemes, shall not include underage individuals, and shall not knowingly be communicated or sent to high-risk players. (Also applicable to Gaming-Related Suppliers)
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.
- Use or contain cartoon figures, symbols, role models, social media influencers, celebrities, or entertainers who would likely be expected to appeal to minors. [This requirement has been changed]
- Use active or retired athletes, who have an agreement or arrangement made directly or indirectly between an athlete and an operator or gaming-related supplier, in advertising and marketing except for the exclusive purpose of advocating for responsible gambling practices. [This requirement is new]
- Use individuals who are, or appear to be, minors to promote gaming.
- 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 potentially high-risk persons, or otherwise extoll the virtues of gaming.
- Entice or attract potentially high-risk players. Instead, measures shall be in place to limit marketing communications to all known high-risk players. [This requirement has been changed]
Additional Information
AGCO plans to issue additional brief guidance in the coming weeks.
Latest News
How to survive a crisis? Slotegrator’s tips on business continuity and disaster recovery
In pursuit of online casino success, operators do their best to provide players with the most interesting products and services, promote their business, analyze the revenue, grow traffic, and implement many other business development methods. Operators create marketing and plans to follow. However there is another important plan we often ignore — business continuity plan.
The iGaming business is vulnerable: it’s usually a large-scale venture, the risks are huge, and the number of potential threats is high. Starting from legal risks if the regulation changes or the market closes, to the cyber attack risks due to lack of security measures. Almost anything can go wrong and ruin a business that was built for years and took a lot of investment.
Slotegrator released a downloadable material describing what can potentially go wrong and how to make your business ready for it. Having a plan is crucial in this matter because improvising when an emergency occurs is a bad idea. What will you do if your regulator bans all forms of gambling advertising? Who will be responsible if the platform fails and the online casino stops functioning properly? How will you analyze the huge amount of data from your platform to detect a mistake? There must be a specific and very detailed plan of actions. Every minute of not accepting payments or not registering new players is an enormous loss for a casino operator, that’s why it’s so important to have your business continuously working without interruptions.
Some problems that may look less serious can cause big difficulties for businesses as well. For instance, Slotegrator talked to William Sarto, PR & Marketing Specialist at CasinoRIX, and got a few tips to help safeguard business during Google’s regular updates. Sarto points out several key advice: “Don’t rely on just one GEO; make sure you’re running projects across multiple countries. Don’t stick to just one vertical. For example, run projects in both the casino and betting sectors. This way, if one gets hit, you’ll have others to offset the impact.
Use a variety of strategies to promote your projects. If one takes a hit, others can grow or stay steady, giving you time to bounce back. Don’t rely solely on SEO for traffic—explore other channels to diversify your sources.”
Having said that, business continuity solution includes two main strategies. The first is to try to prevent the crisis and make your business less vulnerable to external events, and the second is a plan of actions to deal with a crisis and return to normal operation after it passes.
“We all know that being aware of potential risks is already a first step in preventing them. Problems that business face are various, especially in the iGaming industry, but knowing what can happen, learning from experiences gained before, and having a recovery plan can save many starting companies,” says Svetlana Kirichenko, Head of Marketing at Slotegrator.
Learn more about business continuity and disaster recovery from a new material from Slotegrator and contact their team in case of additional questions.
The post How to survive a crisis? Slotegrator’s tips on business continuity and disaster recovery appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, is excited to announce its collaboration with AbleGamers for an impactful charity campaign at TwitchCon 2024. This partnership aims to further AbleGamers’ mission of improving accessibility in gaming for individuals with disabilities through an interactive and meaningful activation.
Attendees who visit the Xsolla booth (Booth 1515-SW) at TwitchCon will have the exclusive opportunity to claim one of two specially designed charity pins. By sharing a photo of their pin on their social channels on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using the hashtags #LightstreamAble and #XsollaAble, participants will help raise funds for AbleGamers. For every qualifying social post, Xsolla and its partners will donate $5 to AbleGamers, up to $10,000. To amplify awareness, include hashtags: #TwitchCon #BongoCat #Lightstream #Xsolla #SoEveryoneCanGame.
“We’re thrilled to partner with AbleGamers at TwitchCon 2024 to support their mission of making gaming more accessible for everyone. By engaging with our booth and sharing their experiences online, attendees collect a unique piece of Xsolla and Lightstream memorabilia and contribute directly to the gaming community. It’s an incredible opportunity to connect the gaming community with a cause that promotes inclusivity and empowerment,” said Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer at Xsolla.
2,000 pins will be distributed—1,000 featuring the iconic Xsolla Cat design and 1,000 co-designed with Lightstream. These limited-edition pins will be available only at the Xsolla booth on a first-come, first-served basis.
How Your Participation Makes a Difference:
- Peer Counseling: AbleGamers offers personalized guidance to assess player needs and provide optimal solutions for inclusive gaming
- Engineering Research: The organization supports the development of assistive technologies that remove barriers for gamers with disabilities
- Community & Inclusion: AbleGamers combats social isolation by fostering opportunities for camaraderie and lifelong friendships within the gaming community
By participating in this campaign, you’ll collect a unique pin and help fund critical resources and support for gamers with disabilities.
Industry-leading social media marketing agency SGG Media is thrilled to announce an exciting new collaboration with the prominent Canadian online casino PlayOJO.
Under the new agreement, SGG Media is set to become PlayOJO’s exclusive provider of live-action casino shows. Leveraging SGG Media’s extensive network of over 2,500 sports and casino influencers, these shows will stream thrilling casino experiences directly to PlayOJO players. Viewers will have the opportunity to interact with the streamers and place bets while witnessing all the exciting live casino action offered by PlayOJO.
Following the live shows, SGG Media will create and share short video highlights of the most captivating moments from the games across various social media platforms, engaging with SGG’s combined following of over 75 million fans. This is the third largest database of sports social media followers, a huge portion of whom have crossover potential and interest In the online casino industry.
The marketing agency has achieved significant success with its casino streams in 2024. They launched their groundbreaking ‘Casino Stream’ show in February. This innovative show offers nightly live-action casino games, providing viewers with an immersive experience in the fast-paced world of roulette, blackjack, slots, and other online games.
PlayOJO is one of the most popular legal online casinos in Ontario. The casino collaborates with major developers and content providers in the industry, offering a distinctive and enjoyable online casino experience to Ontarian’s, all of which will be highlighted as a result of this deal. “We’re thrilled to partner with the SGG team as we introduce our live casino shows in Canada. This unique live show experience will highlight PlayOJO’s best-in-class online casino, featuring slots, live casino, and table games, truly demonstrating why PlayOJO is the home of feel-good fun!”, says the PlayOJO Team.
SGG Media and PlayOJO are dedicated to ensuring a fun and safe online casino environment for players. Both parties will display clear responsible gambling messages throughout the streams, helping to inform players to gamble legally and responsibly.
Speaking about this commitment to responsible gambling, Troy Paul, CEO of SGG Media, said, “We want to create a fun and exciting show, but also make sure viewers know this is a legal casino and players need to wager only money they can afford to lose as entertainment.”
On the deal, Paul said: “We are extremely excited to begin working alongside PlayOJO. It is a brand that wants to drive innovation in the industry, sharing our vision for a more community-driven online casino experience.”
Through our streams, our micro-influencers and content creators will help shine a spotlight on PlayOJO’s fantastic gaming experiences while also growing a community that will want to return for more.
This extends beyond the streams, with our huge network of micro-influencers sharing video content across their platforms, ensuring engagement continues after the stream goes off the air.”
How to survive a crisis? Slotegrator’s tips on business continuity and disaster recovery
XSOLLA PARTNERS WITH ABLEGAMERS FOR CHARITY CAMPAIGN AT TWITCHCON 2024
SGG Media Announces Exciting New PlayOJO Partnership
MGCB Appoints Mark Evenson as a Board Member
FDJ Brings Forward the Expiry of the Acceptance Period of its Offer on Kindred to 2 October After Having Obtained All Necessary Regulatory Approvals
Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort and Quick Custom Intelligence Forge a 3-Year Strategic Alliance
BOS/The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling commissions Advisense to strengthen efforts against money laundering
Players to Unleash Their Inner Outlaw in new slot game, Bank Wagon Heist
ACMA: Young Australians Embrace National Online Gambling Self-Exclusion Register
Week 35/2024 slot games releases
-
gaming2 years agoODIN by 4Players: Immersive, state-of-the-art in-game audio launches into the next generation of gaming
-
EEG iGaming Directory8 years ago
iSoftBet continues to grow with new release Forest Mania
-
News7 years ago
Softbroke collaborates with Asia Live Tech for the expansion of the service line in the igaming market
-
News6 years ago
Super Bowl LIII: NFL Fans Can Bet on the #1 Sportsbook Review Site Betting-Super-Bowl.com, Providing Free Unbiased and Trusted News, Picks and Predictions
-
iGaming Industry7 years ago
Rick Meitzler appointed to the Indian Gaming Magazine Advisory Board for 2018
-
News6 years ago
REVEALED: Top eSports players set to earn $3.2 million in 2019
-
iGaming Industry7 years ago
French Senator raises Loot Boxes to France’s Gambling Regulator
-
News6 years ago
Exclusive Interview with Miklos Handa (Founder of the email marketing solutions, “MailMike.net”), speaker at Vienna International Gaming Expo 2018
