New comprehensive pledge establishing standards for responsible influencer marketing

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has announced a new comprehensive pledge establishing standards for responsible influencer marketing across Europe’s gambling sector, reinforcing its commitment to promote best practices in responsible advertising and consumer protection throughout the EU. 

The Pledge on Responsible Influencer Marketing in Online Gambling was developed in collaboration with the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) and is the first industry-wide set of influencer marketing standards in Europe's gambling sector. It represents a significant step forward in addressing the fast-paced evolution of online marketing, particularly the growing use of influencers in the gambling industry. Building on EGBA’s Code of Conduct on responsible advertising for online gambling, the pledge sets out additional standards for all influencer marketing content produced on behalf of EGBA members. 

The pledge established three core pillars designed to ensure the highest standards of consumer protection: enhanced advertising standards, influencer selection criteria and independent monitoring and compliance. First of all, the pledge introduces rules and guidelines on enhances transparency and age-gating mechanisms to prevent minors from accessing influencer marketing content for online gambling. Secondly, EGBA members commit to working exclusively with influencers who have been screened for responsible marketing conduct and who abide by all applicable advertising standards and legislation. EGBA members encourage the use of training programs to ensure regulatory and self-regulatory development for advertising. Last but not least, EGBA members commit to regulatory monitor their influencer marketing content by independent entities, and to promptly remove any content that is not compliant with the pledge, which applies to all forms of influencer content, including live streams, stories, posts, videos and any digital content format. 

“As the online advertising landscape continues to evolve, we’re proud to lead the industry with the first comprehensive standards for influencer marketing in Europe’ gambling sector. This pledge demonstrates our members’ commitment to responsible advertising and willingness to go beyond regulatory requirements to ensure the highest standards of transparency and minor protection in their influencer partnerships”, said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA. 

The new influencer marketing pledge will be implemented through EGBA members’ marketing practices, with active engagement with influencers to promote awareness of these enhanced standards.