As far as heated subjects go, few are as fierce as that of ensuring licensed online casino operators can compete against the black market.
What provides the black market with a clear advantage over the regulated isn’t solely an immoral approach to advertising and a lack of restrictions to hinder it from adopting any strategies necessary to engage audiences. It is also gameplay that elevates volatility and provides players with a faster avenue to high-stakes gaming.
One particular bugbear is that BonusBuys are available freely on the unlicensed market, but were prohibited in the UK in 2019 when the Gambling Commission decreed that the mechanism encourages chasing losses and riskier, unsafe gameplay.
But while the regulated market can pretend that BonusBuys and TurboSpins don’t exist as long as they are absent from licensed platforms, the mechanisms are acting as a vital asset for the black market to tempt the slots players who are most in need of frameworks and safer gambling tools – so often ignored on the black market.
We have seen by the surge of high volatility crash games that have evolved to penetrate social media algorithms that the black market is utilising intensified gameplay to grow engagement.
Simon Vincze of CasinoGuru revealed his belief that while BonusBuys are not necessarily the strongest USP of the black market, they are clearly an “extra experience”.
“It’s difficult to determine what proportion of players are particularly drawn to that, but many streamers schedule ‘bonus rounds’ sessions where they play one bonus round after another. They would not be doing that if they weren’t popular”, continued Vincze.
The Gambling Commission took a hardline approach to BonusBuys and TurboSpins, identifying them as a clear threat to the most vulnerable players. Bypassing normal game structures and subsequently corroding any balance within the way they engage with slots and the pace of play they embrace.
Vincze underpinned that he feels there are “always better approaches than blanket banning, as it might not be relevant for everyone, and those who desire will often find a way”.
Whether this is enough for BonusBuys to be brought into the regulated market in some form remains to be seen. Could the regulated market find a safe way to introduce them, or would it be blurring the line between the regulated market and unregulated market to a point that it will only increase harm?
The other side of the coin is that defeating the black market isn’t an end goal that should come at all costs – diluting the safety of the regulated market to make sure the black market is beaten is counterproductive.
On whether he believes another approach is possible, Vincze emphasised: “There is no simple answer to these questions, but for me, it lies in personalisation and design. Current behavioural analyses can offer a fairly accurate estimate of whether someone is at risk.
“We could make these features clearly visible to those who score lower, then restrict access to them, or even make them completely inaccessible to those in higher-risk groups.”
Speaking at the Illegal Gambling Prevention Summit, DealMeOut Founder Jordan Lea warned that while he doesn’t believe banning BonusBuys was a bad regulation, consumers still want to use them and will find ways to circumnavigate the frameworks to engage with the mechanic.
Lea ensured he didn’t endorse the regulation of BonusBuys, but warned that their prohibition is an example of where we need to tread very carefully when it comes to regulatory decisions.
Duncan Garvie, the CEO of BetBlocker, also detailed that we have to understand that when we decide to restrict bonuses or BonusBuys, we are “comfortable knowing that a certain proportion of consumers will migrate to the black market because this is a priority for them, because we feel that this piece of regulation will better protect the larger body of consumers who won’t migrate to the black market over that”.
Unlicensed operators, crypto crash games and BonusBuys share a common denominator: their exposure is largely enhanced by influencers and streamers of platforms like Kick.
Lea also warned of the impact of streamers when it comes to the promotion of BonusBuys as streamers who have a genuine connection with their audience and can reach them in effective ways are doing so, promoting the most volatile aspects of games. Mechanics that aren’t even legal in the UK market.
Commenting on the possibility of bringing streamers under the remit of regulations is a real challenge – one acknowledged by Vincze, who stated: “It’s difficult to make them obey something that cannot be enforced.
“If it were another company besides Kick, I would suggest trying to regulate it through them, but they already have a reputation for not caring. Nonetheless, many streamers may not be fully aware that these features could be harmful, and proper education might steer their moral compass.”
It begs the difficult question of whether the promotion and the availability of bonus buys are simply never going to be thwarted, is it time they are encompassed back into the regulated sector and controlled?
My personal opinion is that embracing the most volatile forms of gambling, which in theory can be engaged with safely, encourages the most dangerous style of play and would lower the bar of the regulated market to that of the black market that it so often scolds.
Then, there’s also the education factor – at a conference in Manchester around the black market, one of the stark concerns was that in the modern digital age, players can stumble into the unlicensed sector unknowingly. Eroding the differences between regulated market gameplay and unlicensed market games muddies the waters further and sets a dangerous precedent in the long-term war against the black market.
