Responsible marketing code for sports betting

Responsible marketing code for sports betting

The AGA and its members pledge to uphold responsible marketing practices for sports wagering as legalized sports betting expands across the United States

By Dan Iliovici, Vice-President ROMBET

(continued from previous issue)

Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering Compliance Process

Each member of the AGA is committed to the philosophy of and compliance with the code. All AGA members are required to review and comply with this code. Anyone engaged in U.S. sports wagering advertising and marketing is expected to adhere to the code along with adherence to applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

The following complaint process enables any person or entity, including consumers, (Complainants) to flag potential violations of the code by sports betting advertisers and marketers (the Reported Company) and allow the Reported Company to respond and take corrective measures as warranted. A Reported Company does not need to be an AGA member. An AGA staff representative (AGA CCRB Liaison) will support this process.

The following outlines the compliance review process, including the establishment and role of the Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB). This process will be reviewed periodically and may be updated as needed by the AGA.

Monitoring Code Compliance

• The AGA will provide an online mechanism for receiving from any Complainant a written complaint that a sports betting advertising or marketing message transmitted or published by a Reported Company does not comply with the code.
• The Complainant provides a copy of the sports betting message that is the subject of the complaint, selects the provision(s) of the code in question, and describes its claimed inconsistency with or violations of the provisions of the code. The Complainant also must provide a contact name and contact information.
• The AGA CCRB Liaison is available to answer questions about the complaint submission process. The AGA CCRB Liaison will refer complete and relevant complaints to the Reported Company.
• The Reported Company will provide an initial response to the complainant and the AGA CCRB Liaison within three business days which:
  • Outlines actions taken to address the raised concern;
  • Details the Company’s assessment of claim merits; and/or
  • Requests an extension of the process, which may be granted by the AGA CCRB Liaison.
• If warranted, a comprehensive response, including any additional assessments of the claim, response, and/or planned corrective measures must be shared with the complainant and the AGA CCRB Liaison within seven additional business days.

• If the marketing activity in question is digital in nature, the Reported Company shall endeavor to make adjustments and/or pause the activity immediately pending internal review.
• If the Reported Company does not respond to the initial complaint, the Complainant may request further review by the CCRB as noted below.
• If the Complainant does not request further review by the CCRB, the complaint and any response will be summarized in a publicly available forum on the AGA website. The Complainant is provided the option to remain anonymous in such public reports; in such cases, only the substance of the complaint will be made public.
• If the Complainant still believes the Reported Company is non-compliant after the Reported Company responds, the Complainant can request further review by the CCRB via the AGA CCRB Liaison. This request must be received within three days of the Reported Company’s response. The Complainant can offer any other material relevant to the complaint within seven days of receiving the Reported Company response. The Reported Company will also be provided the opportunity to submit any additional documentation for consideration by the CCRB. The AGA CCRB Liaison will provide all submitted materials to the CCRB via the process outlined below.

CCRB Review Process

• Upon request for further review by the Complainant, the AGA CCRB Liaison will send all materials to the CCRB members for their review.
• The CCRB will meet, in person or virtually, to evaluate if the sports betting marketing or advertising activity at issue is in violation of the code.
• The CCRB will endeavor to provide written notice of its decision to the Complainant and the Reported-Company within seven business days of receiving the appeal of the complaint. In order to find that a Reporting Company is in violation of the Code, there must be an affirmative vote from at least one Chair and a majority of the Member Delegates at the meeting.
• At least one of the Chairs and three Member Delegates must be present for the CCRB to meet and decide on violations of the code. If a Member Delegate’s company is the subject of a complaint or is the Complainant, such member shall be recused from the discussion and decision.
• The CCRB’s written decision will include if a violation of the code has occurred and if so, that the Reported Company is expected to promptly withdraw or revise the advertising and promotional material and/or placement at issue.
• The CCRB decision, and initial complaint, will be summarized in a publicly available forum on the AGA website. The Complainant is provided the option to remain anonymous in such public reports; in such cases, only the substance of the complaint will be made public.

Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB)
The CCRB shall be comprised of two independent, non-gaming industry chairs (Chairs) and five member representatives (Member Delegates). The Chairs shall have a relevant marketing, responsible gaming, or regulatory background. Member Delegates shall be selected from the AGA membership. All CCRB members shall serve three-year terms. Member Delegates must maintain employment at a current AGA member in good standing. Two member alternates will also be selected in the case an appointed Member Delegate resigns or cannot fulfill their obligation. The CCRB will be engaged only after (1) a Complaint has been logged against a Reported Company; (2) the Reported Company has had the required three business days to respond or acknowledge; and (3) the Complainant requests, pursuant to the process laid out above, that the CCRB conduct a review.

Reporting
The AGA will regularly post summaries of the findings of complaints logged, Reported Company responses/actions, and CCRB decisions (as necessary) to a dedicated section of the AGA website. The Complainant is provided the option to remain anonymous in such public reports; in such cases, only the substance of the complaint will be made public. A comprehensive listing of all complete and relevant complaints and actions will be permanently available on the AGA website.

Filing a Complaint
To file a complaint about a particular sports betting advertisement or marketing material subject to this code, please visit AmericanGaming.org. Questions about the code or the compliance process can be directed to the AGA CCRB Liaison.

¹ In addition to this Code, AGA members also have adopted an overall Code of Conduct and a statement of Best Practices for Anti-Money Laundering Compliance.

² Sports wagering advertising and marketing should be placed in broadcast, cable, radio, print, or digital communications only where at least 71.6 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be of legal gambling age (determined by using reliable, up-to-date audience composition data).