Latvian Licensed Gambling Association updates its responsibility code in sports sponsorship 

On April 1 amendments to the Gambling and Lotteries Law (AIL) will enter into force, establishing exceptional cases in which, when sponsoring sporting events, sports organizations and adult athletes, betting and wagering organizers may display their figurative trademark (logo).

In addition to legal requirements, LLAB members voluntarily commit not to disseminate sports support messages that include trademarks of betting and wagering organizers on social networks, audiovisual programs, or digital platforms whose target audience is primarily minors. Likewise, messages that include such trademarks must not be specifically directed at minors, either in their design or placement.

Members also pledged to use age verification and restriction tools that identify the content as age-restricted and not intended to be shown to minors, in cases where sponsorship messages containing betting trademarks are distributed on social and digital media (including social networks) and when functionally possible.

“The modified advertising rules are part of a balanced regulation of the licensed gambling industry,” said LLAB Executive Director Līga Līce. “The absolute advertising ban, which was in place in Latvia until now, prevented licensed operators from informing players about their brands, in contrast to illegal operators whose advertising online is available without restriction. This is one of the reasons why Latvia maintains a consistently high share of the shadow economy in the sector. Without naming the brands of licensed organizers, it is impossible to inform players about which sites are legal and safe, unlike illegal sites where responsible gaming principles do not apply and there is a huge risk of fraud,” explained Līce.

Additionally, LLAB members have established that the warning about gambling addiction risks in sports support messages will not be less than 10% of the total area of the announcement, and will include a link to the self-exclusion register.

Members also committed to defending the integrity of sports competitions. By signing the additions to the responsibility code, they agreed to collect and provide sports organizations, event organizers, and supervisory authorities with data related to suspicious activities indicating possible match-fixing. LLAB plans to cooperate with sports organizations by organizing educational and preventive activities on protecting sports integrity.

The updated responsibility code also includes several other clarifications regarding sponsorship messages and the placement of trademarks at sporting events and on athletes’ uniforms. The full LLAB responsibility code can be consulted here: https://ej.uz/1hjp9

According to the AIL and the additional conditions in the LLAB responsibility code, sponsorship messages that include betting organizers’ trademarks:

– will not contain unfounded claims about the chances of winning or the income players may receive from gambling; 
– will not suggest that skills can influence the outcome of betting; 
– will not pressure people to gamble or include invitations to participate in gambling, including betting; 
– will not portray betting as socially attractive or include endorsements from well-known people or celebrities suggesting that betting helps achieve social success;
 – will not suggest that betting can be a solution to social, professional, or personal problems; 
– will not suggest that betting can be an alternative to employment, a solution to financial difficulties, or a form of investment.

According to SKDS survey data, 47% of residents do not know that both licensed and unlicensed (illegal) gambling sites are available online in Latvia, while 41% do know. Another 12% of respondents found it difficult to answer. “The fact that half of the population does not know that available online sites may be illegal is a direct consequence of excessive information and advertising restrictions for licensed operators,” emphasized Dainis Niedra, Chief Operating Officer of Entain (Optibet, Klondaika).

The European Commission (EC) also recommends in its documents to Member States: “Inform players about the legal offers available. Today many players do not know or ignore whether and where gambling services are licensed. To ensure compliance with gambling rules, players must be able to distinguish between legal and illegal gambling services offered online. Therefore, Member States should explore ways to encourage users to play on authorized operators’ websites rather than unauthorized operators’ websites that provide services without a license.”

The EC also notes that overly restrictive advertising requirements may inadvertently harm consumer protection, pushing them toward the black market.