Measures to ‘win back the market’ from unlicensed operators and affiliates

(AsiaGameHub) –   Advances in big tech have transformed how iGaming players locate their preferred platforms – yet the regulated sector must take action to win back player focus from unlicensed operators that currently dominate social media channels. 

During the most recent Gaming in Europe Webinar, panel members outlined the tactics unlicensed operators use to take shortcuts to connect with players. 

Timothy Malmros Genach, an SEO specialist, cautioned that unlicensed operators have discovered a fast-track method to secure top positions in Google search results. They identify an aged, expired domain with high authority, then flood it with low-quality, malicious links. 

“Once that domain gets penalized, it becomes completely useless. You then add a canonical tag pointing to a new domain, and Google temporarily overlooks the penalty for one to two weeks. When that new domain also gets flagged, you just repeat the process over and over again indefinitely. This is the most effective quick ranking tactic I’ve encountered right now, even more powerful than parasite SEO.”

Both the UK and Dutch iGaming markets have been heavily impacted by the unethical, aggressive exploitation of expired domains by these operators. 

He called on Google to intervene to stop this easy shortcut from being used by black market affiliates and operators that specifically target the most at-risk players. 

Malmros Genach noted that it is impossible for regulators to fully shut down the black market entirely. The only viable approach is to make operations unprofitable for black market operators and affiliates, while making the regulated sector more robust.

At the same time, he cautioned that increasingly strict rules are significantly limiting the capacity of licensed operators to compete against unregulated players. 

Frank op de Woerd, Editor-in-Chief of CasinoNieuws, similarly noted that the competitive landscape is growing ever more difficult for regulated affiliates trying to go up against unregulated platforms. 

“We are not operating under the same competitive terms; the playing field is fundamentally unbalanced,” op de Woerd cautioned. 

“In a regulated market such as the Netherlands, legal affiliates like me work within clearly defined limits. We face rules set both by the regulator and our licensed operator partners, and these restrictions are put in place for valid reasons. They are designed to protect consumers, minimize harm, and keep the market accountable, and I fully support these measures. 

“That said, these rules do create an unfair imbalance, as illegal operators face far fewer limitations. They are not subject to the same constraints, nor are they held to the same standards. This means they have no need to maintain a KVH seal of approval or stay in good standing with any regulatory body.

“In reality, it is the exact opposite: they do not care about their reputation at all, because as Timothy explained, they simply jump from one domain to the next. It is an entirely different way of operating, which already makes competing against them extremely hard.”

He also highlighted that this disadvantage is made even worse by the fact that illegal affiliates are able to promote offerings that many consumers view as superior products. 

He went on to note that there is a far more malicious side to this beyond questionable SEO tactics, which he described as ‘hostile behavior and even harassment’, revealing that legitimate affiliates have even been targeted with DDoS attacks. 

Looking forward, op de Woerd outlined five core strategies to tip the scales back in favor of the regulated market. 

Visibility and attractiveness 

The first core priority is making sure the regulated sector has sufficient visibility and appeal to compete effectively – this is particularly critical in heavily regulated markets such as the Netherlands and the UK. 

While he recognized that these restrictions were introduced for legitimate purposes, they have created significant barriers for the regulated sector to compete successfully. 

Treating responsible affiliates as key parts of the solution

A shift in perception around affiliates is required: they should be seen not only as a commercial arm for operators, but also as a critical channel for promoting responsible gambling practices. Policymakers should leverage their existing reach to educate consumers about the risks associated with illegal iGaming sites. 

Government and policymakers bolstering the legal affiliate ecosystem 

He also called on governments and legislators to take additional steps to strengthen the operating environment for legal affiliates. 

These steps include improving visibility and supporting greater channelization. Op de Woerd also endorsed the initiative launched by some Dutch operators to introduce a verification badge that adds legitimacy and ratings to their services. 

Targeting illegal operational infrastructure 

Illegal affiliates make use of an entire support infrastructure, ranging from domain hosting to monetization tools and traffic generation channels. This entire network that illegal operators and affiliates depend on should be the focus of enforcement action. 

“This is a key pressure point, and we need to do everything we can to make operating as difficult as possible for these bad actors,” op de Woerd stressed. 

This also applies to social media platforms that have allowed unlicensed affiliates to reach large audiences via live streams and other content. 

Pushing Google to take action 

Google must take urgent action to address these issues. “It is a very complex topic, but Google’s search function, while imperfect, still drives the majority of our traffic,” op de Woerd acknowledged. 

“Our relationship with the platform is complicated. For years, Google has made all the right statements about cracking down on spam, search manipulation and black hat SEO tactics. It has released official guidelines, policies, repeated warnings and other measures. But the inconvenient truth is that many of these exploitative tactics have been in use for more than 15 years.” 

While holding Google accountable is a challenging task, it is also a critical step in addressing the rapid growth of unlicensed affiliate activity.