What Responsible Affiliates in Gambling Means to the Industry
What is RAiG exactly? RAiG stands for Responsible Affiliates in Gambling, and it is a trade association designed to promote responsible gambling by auditing affiliate marketing activities in the UK betting market. Since 2019, RAIG has been working to make gambling safer for customers in the United Kingdom.
What Are the Founding Principles of RAiG?
RAiG was founded by Racing Post, Oddschecker, and Better Collective but has since grown to include other organizations and providers within the gambling environment. It is founded upon the following key principles:
- Education in the affiliate sector
- Reliable information for gamblers
- Coordinating the interests of gambling operators and marketing affiliates
- Affiliate marketing transparency
Member Criteria
In order to join RAiG, members must complete an audit carried out by an independent third-party professional. This audit covers the following:
- Interviewing relevant management and legal compliance personnel, discussing compliance approaches, policies, promotional and marketing activities, third-party affiliate activities, and social media usage
- Reviewing internal policies
- Spot-checking websites, applications, and other materials. A minimum of 100 pages of material will be reviewed.
- Spot-checking direct marketing materials, examining a minimum of 10 examples
- Spot-checking social media accounts. A maximum of 10 social media accounts will be reviewed, but the RAiG member must provide a full list of all relevant accounts.
The first audit must be carried out within three months of the application submission, as long as RAiG can provide an auditor during this window. Further audits can be agreed upon between RAiG and the member, but additional audits must take place within two years of the last completed audit.
The cost of the audit is covered by the membership fee in most cases.
How Does RAiG Impact the Global Gambling Landscape?
At first glance, it would appear that the scope of RAiG is limited. It is an opt-in program, and there is no mandatory requirement for gambling providers or affiliate marketers to join. It also covers only the United Kingdom market and therefore has no jurisdiction beyond the UK’s borders.
However, the organization is still something that international gambling providers need to remain aware of, and here’s why.
- RAiG could serve as a model for other organizations across the world. RAiG has only been operating for two years, as of 2021, and its influence is still growing. If the program proves to be successful, expect other organizations in other jurisdictions to adopt the model.
- Transparency really does matter to customers. Responsible gambling provides sustainability to the industry, and customers recognize the importance of this. They don’t want to work with cynical gambling providers who are only out to take advantage of them with underhand marketing and other activities. An organization like RAiG supports this transparency, and gambling providers who ignore this could find themselves losing revenue.
- The UK market is a major opportunity for growth. Gambling providers with an international scope cannot afford to miss out on a market like the one in the UK. Working with an organization like RAiG could help providers develop a positive reputation in the country.
RAiG may be limited to the UK, but its activities certainly do have an impact across the global landscape. Gambling providers seeking to get established in this market may find it useful to work with an organization like this one.
