In football and gaming marketing, you ignore the rules at your peril

Penalties have raised their head yet again in the finals of a major championship. For once (literally) England’s youngsters held their nerve and came through in a tense shootout against what appeared to be a squad of Colombian hitmen prepared to try everything short of a knee to the groin in order to stay in the tournament.

The introduction of VAR, seen now on reflection to be beneficial in the majority of cases rather than a hindrance to the flow of the game, has made the chancers in football a little more honest. What was at risk of being debased into a game of bluff and bluster now has a chance of redeeming its status as ‘the beautiful game’.

However, rules in any part of life have the opportunity to be interpreted and, if possible, loopholes found. Referees are human, players are well versed in gaming miniscule illegitimacies to win an edge and the world’s most costly player, Brazil’s Neymar, is fast becoming a parody of himself with his histrionics as he tries to break the somersault world record at every opportunity, his misguided aim being to win through the provision of free kicks and penalties at all times.

For us gaming marketers our rules are not overseen by a bank of cameras and a team of secondary referees, but there are officials whose job it is to ensure we stay within the boundaries of fair play. These authorities are the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), with their CAP and BCAP codes of practice, and the UK Gambling Commission. These august bodies don’t need cameras and replays as gaming marketing campaigns are designed by their very definition to be highly visible to as many people as possible.

Footballers may feign a trip – we on the other hand are telegraphing our mistakes on the biggest stage we can afford.

On the 28 June the Gambling Commission published a report that included a statement from the CEO, Neil McArthur, covering the following key areas of their compliance focus:

• Anti-money laundering
• Customer interaction
• Self-exclusion
• Unfair terms and practices
• Advertising and marketing
• Illegal gambling

 The goalposts have been moved to protect consumers, the wider public and raise standards in the industry with the added benefit of improving the integrity of the gaming industry. The fines associated with non-compliance are becoming scary in their scale and frequency.

These dodgy players aren’t US-facing Costa Rica- licensed sportsbooks either. Check out this list of big name brands (this is a highlight reel – there are plenty more) and subsequent fines and have a think:

• William Hill – £6.2m penalty package for social responsibility and money laundering failures
• LeoVegas – £600,000 penalty package for advertising breaches
• 888 – £7.8m penalty package for failings in handling vulnerable customers
• Sky Bet – £1m fine for failing to protect vulnerable consumers.

Do you act more in line with the rules than these hallmark brands? Are you sure? Look at those numbers and have then decide if a full audit of your campaigns and operating protocols doesn’t sound like a pretty sensible idea. You can start by reading the ASA’s updated CAP and BCAP Codes here.

The Gambling Commission will continue to set and enforce standards that the industry must comply with to protect consumers.

In all of the sections, there are examples of enforcement action undertaken, details of the financial penalties imposed and a “health check” for each area advising on what you can employ as best practice on the topics covered.

There is no interpretation of the rules – these are the rules. Those operators that don’t comply are going to find that eventually there will be a price to be paid that’ll hurt much more than an exit in the quarter finals of the World Cup.

Harry Lang is the founder of Brand Architects, a brand-building and integrated marketing consultancy. You can follow him on Linked In or Twitter @MrHarryLang