European gaming regulators have identified affiliates as a key area of focus over the next 12 months. The Gaming Regulators European Forum (GREF) announced following its annual conference and business meeting held in Riga, Latvia over the weekend that the role of affiliates was now one of three “specific issues” it was to address over the year ahead.

This will include working towards developing a common understanding of affiliates’ role, “especially ensuring that their activities and interaction with customers is appropriate, affords proper levels of protection and is in line with national licensing objectives”.

Gambling affiliates form an important part of the marketing arsenal of online operators, the performance-based model meaning the latter only pay for traffic sent by affiliate websites which converts into depositing customers.

Their activities have until recently fallen outside the remit of gambling regulators, with affiliates themselves displaying limited appetite to date for self-regulation or the development of common standards.

A handful of UK affiliates have obtained certification from industry-funded gambling charity GamCare, however, while high-profile UK affiliates such as Casino Choice only work with reputable brands which are licensed by EEA Member States, Gibraltar or jurisdictions on the government’s pre-approved White List.

The Nevada Gaming Commission also set a new precedent last year when it included online gambling affiliates in its regulatory framework for online gambling, approving Vegas-based affiliate PokerTrip Enterprises for an interactive service provider licence in September.