Casino Affiliates Targeting Problem Gamblers

By Simon Wright, Last updated Jul 1, 2023

It has come to light that several affiliates working within the iGaming industry, are actively targeting problem gamblers who have signed up to GamStop. Deliberately targeting problem gamblers who have signed up with GamStop, but who are actively searching on the search engines for casinos  where GamStop does not apply.

These Non GamStop pages created by affiliate sites, are designed to rank high within search engines such as google for GamStop related keywords, then provide any visitors with lists of online casinos that accept UK Players and also players that are using the service provided by GamStop.

These casinos listed, are not licensed by the Gambling Commission and therefore are not part of the GamStop self exclusion programme.

This is a calculated action by these affiliates and sites who are hoping to prey on vulnerable people who have a gambling problem,  thus financially benefiting from their addiction.

GamStop is a a free online self exclusion service that enables players to self exclude themselves from all UKGC licensed gambling sites for a period of time up to 5 years.

However, it appears that some affiliates promoting online casinos are targeting GamStop related keywords and key phrases in google, providing lists of online casinos that are not participating in  GamStop.

In doing so, they are trying to attract vulnerable players who have used GamStop to help them combat a gambling problem. With the affiliates readily listing unlicensed and in many instances, casinos that are rogue, to this group of players.

One such site ChoiceCasinos supplies a list of well known rogue and blacklisted online casinos on their dedicated ‘Non GamStop Casinos’ page. These casinos listed are all unlicensed by the UKGC, but  readily accept UK players.

The owner of ChoiceCasinos even has a testimonial with a link back to one of his sites on the Genting Affiliates home page.

Hopefully Genting, being a UKGC licensed operator, will be not only taking down the testimonial from their affiliate programme site, but also shutting down the offending affiliate account belonging to the owner of ChoiceCasinos.

In this forum thread here on Casinomeister, several affiliate sites have been identified performing such unethical marketing practice. With Bryan Bailey from Casinomeister, commenting: “Now this guy ought to be shut down. He knows EXACTLY what he is doing, and there is no way in hell that he could feign “oops”.”

This is a deliberate plan to target those players who are making Google searches for “Non-GamStop Casinos”. His affiliate accounts should be squashed, and this affiliate should be banned from any if not all iGaming conferences.”

“Problem gambling is a tragedy – and should not be a marketing ploy. What a f*&^ing douche.”

Already several affiliate programs have taken action against the affiliate sites listed in the thread on the forum, with Bailey reaching out to all affiliate programs to take decisive action against any site using such an unethical marketing tactic.

This targeting of problem gamblers, is clearly a ploy by these affiliate sites to attract vulnerable people in the hope that they can financially benefit directly from them. This unfortunately is the dark side of the iGaming industry and is a practice that must be stamped out.

It also makes a mockery of the service provided by GamStop and the great work they have done, to try and assist and help people who have a gambling problem.

Further information on this can  be read over at The Pogg, who have also covered this unethical practice being performed by a collection of affiliates, who it would seem have no moral compass.

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