In our report, those surveyed responded that influencer collaborations and affiliate marketing were responsible for 38% and 22% of all player acquisition, respectively. That is 60% in total, not accounting for SEO and paid advertising.
Now a new insight is beginning to crystallise: the leash on the legal status of affiliate marketing in Europe is tightening.
Complete Ban
Several countries where online gambling is a staple have banned all kinds of affiliate promotions, including influencer-led sponsorships and collaborations.
Belgium
The country where online gambling has often been viewed as a family pastime and where Jean Claude van Damme famously advertised Belgian online casino 777.be has had a broad ban on gambling advertising since 2023.
Belgium prohibits running ads across public spaces, television, radio, cinema, social media, and online. The ban also covers affiliate marketing, where regulation is set to introduce more restrictions before the end of 2028.
Italy
Italy considers all celebrity and influencer-led ads as ‘communications of a promotional nature’ and therefore restricts them as part of a larger blanket ban on advertising and sponsorships across all forms of gambling. Affiliate marketing counts as so it is prohibited, though casino review sites, such as miglioricasinoonline.info do exist and operate in the country.
Latvia
Direct gambling advertising is illegal across all media in Latvia, though the key word here is ‘direct’. Latvian online bookies and casinos have found ways to use sports teams and local celebrity endorsements for visibility of their brands. The country’s journalists and authorities are in active discussions on whether indirect advertising via sports bars (not online sportsbooks, which are a different category) is a loophole for gambling communications.
De jure, the country’s total ban extends to affiliates in the online space from, but de facto the iGaming industry has found workarounds to make affiliation work, as pointed out on LSM+.
Lithuania
The Parliament of the Baltic state adopted a general ban on gambling advertising from 1 July 2025. Lithuania has earmarked 2028 as the year when it will transition to complete enforcement of the law, with some sponsorships currently excluded as gambling ads.
Previous regulatory reviews already banned promotions of bonuses, free bets, and discounts via online websites and review portals. The country’s regulator, Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority (LGCA), has, in essence, eliminated affiliate marketing by introducing a no-hyperlinking prescription for online ads.
Partial Ban
European countries that enact a partial ban are those that may license affiliate marketing activity or, in contrast, ban only particular categories of gambling and have particular rules regarding how it can be carried out.
Finland
Finland, which currently operates a state-owned monopoly on online gambling, is transitioning to an open market model in 2027. The type of ban enacted is a partial one that encompasses the promotion and advertising of non-Veikkaus (Regulator). All partner sites that engage in active targeting of Finnish players fall into the unlawful gambling category.
A player who streamed themselves playing at a non-Veikkaus licensed casino via Twitch, who also supplied partner links to said casino, was recently found to be in violation of the Lotteries Act. Such activity was deemed as indirect marketing of gambling services, and the player was ordered to pay a fine by conclusion of the court.
Norway
The Scandinavian state maintains a monopoly managed by two operators, Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Therefore, affiliate promotion is, by law, restricted and legal if it applies to these two operators.
It is illegal to assist in marketing gambling sites maintained under the licence of other countries or under remote gaming licences. What is more, proactive DNS blocking has been in place since the end of 2024.
A move away from a monopoly model has been discussed. However, Norway has not released any concrete plans as to when this might occur or, by extension, when a review of the laws that govern affiliate promotion will take place.
Affiliates have been caught by the general prohibition on marketing unlicensed gambling since 1995.
Switzerland
The country maintains a complete ban on advertising or facilitating access to unlicensed online gambling. This means that online casinos and sportsbooks that hold a licence from the respective regulators, Regulators ESBK (casino) and Gespa (lottery and sports betting) may engage in online ads.
In 2025, several court cases upheld the ban on unlicensed operators who were targeting the country’s players. This extended to bans of sites that were using search engine marketing means to gain visibility.
Affiliate marketing is free to thrive in Switzerland so long as it extends to locally licensed companies.
Poland
Any affiliate activity is confined to tightly-regulated mutual betting or betting on sports. Promotion of gambling on slot games or games hosted on sites from international operators.
In 2025, Poland continued to ban such sites, with more frequent cases of review of websites that facilitate links to online casinos that explicitly target Polish citizens.
Mixed Ban
Netherlands
While the Dutch country does not outright ban affiliate marketing, it does impose a ban on untargeted advertising. Hence, affiliate marketers must be able to prove that 95% of their advertising reaches an audience that is 24 years old or over. A heavy proof margin like this is set to discourage such marketing activity in the first place.
Ads on allowed media, including those on affiliate sites, can’t use celebrities, athletes, influencers, models, or other endorsers to promote their brand.
In 2025, the Regulator, KSA, led an investigation into affiliate websites and even news sites and issued multiple penalty orders. These extended to sites that review and compare online casinos.
Other Markets
Denmark, Germany, Greece, Sweden, Romania, and the UK generally allow affiliates to promote online brands so long as they are licensed by the local regulators. Though, each of the mentioned countries imposes strict rules around the actual contents, time, and placement of said creatives and ads.
Takeaway
With many affiliate media businesses still reeling back from the sweeping changes to Google’s Core Search Updates, which obliterated dozens of affiliate websites overnight, 2025 is proving that affiliate marketing is in the spotlight of many regulators in Europe.
