Do Gambling Affiliates Need a Licence?

It depends on where your visitors are. In Great Britain an affiliate does not need its own gambling licence: the operator you promote holds the licence and is responsible for your marketing. In the regulated US states, affiliates usually do need approval from the state regulator before they can be paid, and the level of approval often depends on whether you earn a flat fee or a share of revenue. Ontario also registers suppliers to its licensed operators, and that can include affiliates.

This guide sets out how the main English-speaking markets treat affiliates, so you know what to check before you build pages for a market. It is general information, not legal advice: rules change, and the regulator's own pages are the final word.

Why affiliate licensing matters

Regulators license operators, but affiliates bring them a large share of their new customers. Some regulators control that by holding operators responsible for their affiliates; others approve affiliates directly. Either way, three things follow:

• Operators in regulated markets check their affiliates, and an affiliate without the approval a state requires can't be paid there.
• Your content is treated as the operator's advertising, so the market's advertising and safer gambling rules apply to your pages.
• Sending players from a regulated market to unlicensed sites can get you removed from the licensed programs you rely on.

Great Britain

Affiliates do not need a licence from the Gambling Commission. Instead, the Commission's licence conditions make operators responsible for the marketing done on their behalf, including by affiliates, so operators set strict terms in their affiliate contracts and check affiliate sites.

• Promote only operators that hold a Gambling Commission licence. You can check any operator on the Commission’s public register.
• Follow the CAP and BCAP advertising codes, the Commission's rules on bonus terms, and the operator's own brand rules.
• Breaking the rules can get the operator fined and you removed from its program.

The British rules are covered in detail in casino affiliate marketing in the UK: the rules.

United States: state by state

There is no federal licence for online gambling in the US. Each state that allows online casino or sports betting runs its own regulator, and most of them approve affiliates in some form. Three of the longest-running markets show the pattern:

Other states with online sports betting have their own versions, and some only regulate sports betting, not online casino. Before you target a state, check its regulator's page for affiliates or vendors, and ask the operator's affiliate team what they need from you: they handle these applications every week.

Two points catch out new US affiliates:

• Approval comes before payment. Operators generally can't pay an affiliate who doesn't hold the registration the state requires.
• Sub-affiliates count. If you earn through another affiliate's deal, you may need your own approval too.

Flat fee or revenue share: why it changes the licence

US regulators treat an affiliate who shares in players' losses as closer to the gambling business than one paid a fixed fee for an introduction. So the same site can need a light registration on a CPA deal and a full licence, with background checks and higher fees, on a revenue share deal. Some affiliates start on CPA in a new state and move to revenue share once they hold the fuller licence. How the two deals compare in money terms is explained in how casino affiliate programs work.

Ontario and the rest of Canada

Ontario opened a regulated online market in 2022, overseen by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario. Operators there may only work with suppliers the AGCO has registered where registration applies, and the AGCO decides case by case what counts. If you plan to promote Ontario operators, ask their affiliate teams what registration they require and read the AGCO’s supplier pages.

Ontario's advertising standards also restrict how gambling can be promoted, including a ban on using athletes in gambling ads (except to promote responsible gambling) and on celebrities likely to appeal to minors. Outside Ontario, online gambling in Canada is mostly run by the provinces' own lottery corporations, which have their own partner programs, if any.

Sweepstakes casinos

Sweepstakes casinos operate under sweepstakes law rather than a gambling licence, and they are available in many US states where online casinos are not. Affiliates generally don't need a gambling regulator's approval to promote them, but several states have moved to restrict or ban sweepstakes casinos, so the list of states you can target changes. Check the operator's list of excluded states and keep your pages up to date. More in how to start a sweepstakes casino affiliate website.

What to do before you target a market

1. List the markets your visitors will come from, not just the ones you want.
2. Check each regulator's rules for affiliates or vendors, and note whether your deal type changes them.
3. Promote licensed operators only, and geo-target your links so visitors from each market see brands licensed there.
4. Apply for approvals early. Registrations can take weeks or months.
5. Keep records of your contracts and approvals; operators and regulators may ask for them.

BettingWebsiteBuilder sites show each affiliate link only to visitors from the countries you choose, so a UK visitor and a Canadian visitor can see different brands on the same page. Start a casino affiliate website with the targeting already built in.

Frequently asked questions

18+ only. Gambling can be addictive. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice, so check the rules for each market you target. If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, visit BeGambleAware.org.