Affiliate Marketing Trends: Where is iGaming promotion legal in Europe?

As part of the SOFTSWISS iGaming Trends 2025 report , we address the affiliate marketing vertical – a key player acquisition channel for most operators.

In our report, respondents indicated that influencer collaborations and affiliate marketing accounted for 38% and 22% of all player acquisition, respectively. This represents 60% in total, not considering SEO and paid advertising.

Now, a new perception is beginning to crystallize: the reins on the legal status of affiliate marketing in Europe are becoming tighter.

Total ban

Several countries where online gambling is common have banned all types of affiliate promotions, including sponsorships and influencer-led collaborations.

Belgium

The country where online gambling is often seen as a family pastime, and where Jean-Claude Van Damme advertised the famous Belgian online casino 777.be, has had a broad ban on gambling advertising since 2023.

Belgium prohibits advertising in public spaces, on television, radio, in cinemas, on social media, and online. The ban also covers affiliate marketing, where regulations are expected to introduce further restrictions before the end of 2028.

Italy

Italy considers all advertisements led by celebrities and influencers as "communications of a promotional nature" and therefore restricts them as part of a broader general ban on advertising and sponsorships in all forms of gambling. Affiliate marketing counts as such and is prohibited, although casino review sites, such as miglioricasinoonline.info, exist and operate in the country.

Letonia

Direct advertising of gambling is illegal in all media in Latvia, although the key word here is "direct." Latvian betting houses and online casinos have found ways to use sports teams and the support of local celebrities to give visibility to their brands. Journalists and authorities in the country are in active discussions about whether indirect advertising through sports bars (and not online betting houses, which are a different category) constitutes a loophole for communications about gambling.

De jure, the country's total ban extends to affiliates in the online space, but in fact, the iGaming industry has found alternative solutions to make affiliate marketing work, as pointed out in LSM+.

Lithuania

The Baltic State Parliament adopted a blanket ban on gambling advertising starting July 1, 2025. Lithuania has reserved 2028 as the year in which it will transition to full implementation of the law, with some sponsorships currently excluded as gambling advertisements.

Previous regulatory revisions already prohibited bonus promotions, free bets, and discounts through online sites and review portals. The country's regulator, the Lithuanian Gaming Control Authority (LGCA), essentially eliminated affiliate marketing by introducing a no-hyperlinks rule for online advertisements.

Partial ban

European countries that enact a partial ban are those that can license affiliate marketing activities or, conversely, prohibit only specific categories of gambling and have specific rules on how this can be carried out.

Finland

Finland, which currently operates a state monopoly on online gambling, is transitioning to an open market model by 2027. The type of ban enacted is partial, covering the promotion and advertising of games not belonging to the Veikkaus (Regulator). All partner sites that actively engage in targeting Finnish players fall into the category of illegal gambling.

A player who streamed himself playing at a casino not licensed by Veikkaus via Twitch, and also provided partner links to said casino, was recently found to be in violation of the Lottery Act. This activity was deemed indirect marketing of gambling services, and the player was fined by court order.

Norway

The Scandinavian state maintains a monopoly operated by two companies, Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto. Therefore, affiliate promotion is, by law, restricted and legal only if applicable to these two companies.

It is illegal to assist in the marketing of gambling websites maintained under licenses from other countries or under remote gaming licenses. Furthermore, proactive DNS blocking has been in effect since the end of 2024.

A move away from the monopoly model has been discussed. However, Norway has not released any concrete plans on when this might happen or, by extension, when a review of the laws governing affiliate promotion will occur.

Affiliates have been subject to a general ban on marketing unlicensed gambling games since 1995.

Switzerland

The country maintains a total ban on advertising or facilitating access to unlicensed online gambling. This means that online casinos and sports betting sites licensed by their respective regulatory bodies, ESBK (casino) and Gespa (lottery and sports betting), can display online advertisements.

In 2025, several lawsuits upheld the ban on unlicensed operators targeting the country's players. This extended to a ban on websites that used search engines to gain visibility.

Affiliate marketing can thrive in Switzerland, provided it extends to locally licensed businesses.

Poland

Any affiliate activity is limited to strictly regulated mutual betting or sports betting. Promotion of gambling on slot machines or games hosted on international operator websites is prohibited.

In 2025, Poland continued to ban these sites, with more frequent cases of reviewing websites that facilitate links to online casinos that explicitly target Polish citizens.

Mixed prohibition

The Netherlands

Although the Netherlands does not completely prohibit affiliate marketing, it does impose a ban on non-targeted advertising. Therefore, affiliate marketers must be able to prove that 95% of their advertising reaches an audience aged 24 or older. Such a high proof margin discourages this type of marketing activity in the first place.

Advertisements on permitted media, including those on affiliate websites, cannot use celebrities, athletes, influencers, models, or other sponsors to promote their brand.

In 2025, the regulator, Saudi Arabia, led an investigation into affiliated websites and even news sites, issuing numerous penalty orders. These sanctions extended to websites that review and compare online casinos.

Other markets

Denmark, Germany, Greece, Sweden, Romania, and the United Kingdom generally allow affiliates to promote brands online, provided they are licensed by local regulators. However, each of the aforementioned countries imposes strict rules regarding the content, timing, and placement of materials and advertisements.

Conclusion

With many affiliate media companies still reeling from the radical changes to Google's core search updates, which wiped out dozens of affiliate sites overnight, 2025 is proving that affiliate marketing is in the spotlight for many regulators in Europe.