UK gambling affiliate compliance: what operators must enforce
In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission reaches affiliate marketing through the licensed operators who pay for it. Its position is that operators answer for what their affiliates publish and send. That makes affiliate compliance an operator responsibility with real consequences for the licence. The same principle applies in Sweden, where Primestake’s brand portfolio of Swedish comparison sites operates.
Licence condition 1.1.2
UKGC licence condition 1.1.2 applies to all licences. It makes licensees responsible for the actions of third parties they contract with for any aspect of their licensed business, and it sets three requirements for those contracts:
- The third party, when acting for the licensee, must conduct itself as if bound by the same licence conditions and codes of practice.
- The third party must provide the information the licensee needs to meet its own reporting duties to the Commission.
- The licensee must be able to terminate the contract promptly if the third party breaches it or acts inconsistently with the licensing objectives, which explicitly includes affiliates breaching an advertising code.
The Commission’s page on licensees’ responsibilities for third parties describes the expected practice: adequate due diligence before contracting, and enough oversight and controls afterwards.
Direct marketing and self-exclusion
Affiliates that send email or SMS are a specific risk area. The Commission’s guide to affiliates and third parties states that operators must take all reasonable steps to ensure that social responsibility code provision 3.5.3, which covers self-exclusion, is not breached when a third party sends marketing. It also states that the Commission and the ICO consider the operator primarily responsible for breaches, and that a process with a single point of failure is unlikely to count as taking all reasonable steps.
Direct marketing through affiliates must also follow the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The Commission’s separate guide on keeping self-excluded customers out of marketing sets out the expected controls.
Advertising codes
Gambling ads in the UK, including affiliate content, fall under the CAP Code for non-broadcast media and the BCAP Code for broadcast, enforced by the ASA. Since 1 October 2022, gambling ads must not be likely to be of strong appeal to under-18s, especially by reflecting or being associated with youth culture. The ASA’s announcement gives examples of what the rule excludes, including footballers with a considerable following among under-18s and stars of reality shows popular with that age group. The full rules are in the CAP Code.
Bonus rules from January 2026
The changes to promotions in the Gambling Commission’s 19 January 2026 update took effect that day:
- Wagering requirements are capped at ten times the bonus.
- Promotions that require a customer to gamble on two or more product types, such as betting and casino, are prohibited.
- Social responsibility code 5.1.1 on rewards and bonuses was reworded.
Affiliates often host offer descriptions that outlive the offer. Any page still showing a wagering requirement above ten times, or a cross-product offer, is now describing something an operator may not provide. Operators should make sure every affiliate has received updated terms and has removed old ones.
A practical control framework
| Control | What to do |
|---|---|
| Onboarding due diligence | Verify company, owners, domains, traffic sources and existing partners |
| Contract | Include 1.1.2 requirements, CAP/BCAP compliance, information duties and termination rights |
| Approved assets | Provide current terms, logos and copy; require affiliates to use them |
| Monitoring | Review affiliate pages and ads regularly, including search for your brand on affiliate domains |
| Direct marketing | Require affiliates to screen against self-exclusion with more than one check, and to show how consent was obtained |
| Offer changes | Notify affiliates of every change and set a deadline for updating pages |
| Breach handling | Document findings, require fixes, withhold payment where the contract allows, terminate where needed |
| Records | Keep evidence of checks so you can show reasonable steps |
Questions to ask a UK affiliate
- Which domains and channels will carry our brand?
- Do you list any operators without a Gambling Commission licence?
- How do you check that content will not have strong appeal to under-18s?
- If you send email or SMS, how is consent recorded, and how do you screen against self-exclusion?
- How quickly can you update or remove content when we ask?
About Primestake
Primestake currently operates comparison sites for the Swedish licensed market, where the operator’s responsibility for outsourced work is set out in Chapter 11, § 6 of the Gambling Act. We work under contracts that give operators the oversight described above. See Primestake’s contract terms for operators.