Too Many Fake Gambling Awards – Why are they allowed?

Casinolusbonus investigates why there are so many fake online gambling awarding bodies and points out the pitfalls for players like you! (Image by rudoelena312083 on Vecteezy)

The iGaming industry is becoming obsessed with fake or less-than-trustworthy awards.

I’ve been an iGaming journalist for over 15 years. I’ve played at online casinos and bet on sports since 1996.

Gambling awards were great 5 to 6 years ago, but today, I am stunned at just how many garbage ones for online gambling exist.

This is my personal opinion as a player and industry journalist, and the same thoughts are echoed by many of the team members here at Casinoplusbonus.

The main gripe we have with these pretend awarding bodies is that many of them are indirectly selling awards.

Yes, you read that correctly and let me say it in reverse. Online gambling companies are buying these awards.

Yet, that isn’t the only travesty in all of this. The brands giving out these awards are the very same websites that tout themselves as ‘honest’ and ‘player-focused’ online gambling specialists that ‘help players’. It really does boggle the mind how they are getting away with their dishonesty.

These so-called ‘honest’ and ‘player-focused’ brands that ‘help players’ are essentially pulling the wool over your eyes. Yet, another surprising fact is that very few people are talking about it, and I will dive deeper into the topic of industry silence below.

For now, my introductory focus for this news piece is to point out the horrific fact that there are brands out there holding awards ceremonies that are in complete contradiction to everything they have been telling you on their main website and in their brand mission statements.

Much worse, some of the top iGaming and sports betting companies pay to participate in these awards events instead of taking the moral high ground and refusing to be a part of this industry malpractice.

While there are some excellent awarding bodies out there, like the EGR and SBC awards, the growing number of fake award ceremonies online is beginning to get out of hand. Furthermore, it dilutes the value of reputable online gambling award bodies.

There is some good news. I am here to help you ignore the garbage because, as a result of the research for this news piece, I was given a list of the most trustworthy iGaming awards bodies that you, as a player, can rely on. These are the only awards we will report here on Casinoplusbonus, and we advise you to only respect these awarding bodies.

Why Are Fake Gambling Awards An Issue Today?

Fake awards leave casino players with a problem, especially those new to iGaming.

They see a company brandishing the fact it won an award. Yet, the awarding body being touted is not regulated by an official authority to ensure the process involved is fair and transparent.

The problem you face as an online casino or sports betting enthusiast today is choice. It is a great problem to have because there are so many games, online gambling platforms, and software providers to choose from.

Therefore, when there are awarding bodies out there trying to influence your decision of which games, casino, sports book, or software provider to choose, the way in which the awards are bring handed out need to be transparent thus giving them merit.

That’s just not what is happening. With so many ‘fake’ or ‘purchased’ awards out there, they are diluting the legitimate awarding bodies and confusing online gamblers. Not only that they can influence gamblers to make the wrong decisions.

When people complain about ‘media narratives’ it is not so much different to what these unregulated awarding bodies are doing.

Who is Regulating Online Gambling Awards?

When there is so much emphasis out there from regulatory authorities on fair and transparent advertising for online gambling, it seems when it comes to awards, this form of brand advertising is overlooked.

The UKGC, MGA, SGA, AGCO, and numerous other licensing authorities have not addressed the issue of false online gambling awards. In fact, I think they’ve completely missed it.

Take the UK White Paper reform, for example. Read it here, and try searching ‘ctrl F’. Nothing!

The White Paper talks about a good game when it comes to controlling gambling advertising, but where does it mention regulating online gambling awards? Awards influence player decisions, yet the objective is for the awarding body to generate revenue, not to help the industry or players who are the industry’s engine.

We also see Google play the violin when it comes to ‘Your Money Your Life’ and offering the general public honest information when it comes to the topic of online gambling. Again, brands offering these awards are highlighted by the search engine!

We also see the importance of brands creating content that emphasises the creation of content that helps consumers’ decision-making, so they have all the information in order to make an educated selection on which product is best for their wants or needs.

It seems YMYL, regulators for gambling advertising, and content produced on website that rank on search engines and circulate on social media covering fake awards are immune from rules put in place that are there to help gambling consumers play online in safer environment.

Which iGaming industry awards are real and which ones are fake?

I was given a list of the most trustworthy iGaming awards bodies out there. These are the only awards we will report on here in Casinoplusbonus, and we advise you to only respect these awarding bodies.

Why are there so many fake iGaming awards out there that no one is exposing?

Again, I asked good old ChatGPT to give me some ideas, and it came up with the list below, which I already had jotted down in my notes. It is very interesting indeed. However, the text for each reason given is from my personal online gambling experience on the topic of fake awards.

• These awarding bodies are not being regulated: In other words, they can sell awards, which I will get into in the next section.

• Commercial Interests and Revenue: They are on the rise because it gives the awarding body brand exposure (Commercial interests and revenue)

• Industry Insider Silence: Those working in the online gambling industry may not expose the ‘awards for sale’ because it would harm the professional relationship they have with the awarding body.
  

• Benefits to Participant: Those that participate get to brandish the award as if they really won it. Players and sports bettors who do not know any better fall for the trick, and see the award as a reason to play a game or join an online gambling platform.

Here is a quote from Phil Perason’s Linkedin account: The road to winning an award is often based on how much marketing expenditure you give to the people running them. Just ask anyone at Nolimit City for proof of that. They would have 50 if it was purely on the games.

Do Some Online Gambling Awards Sell Awards?

Yes, they do. And you can ask ChatGPT this one too if you like. Most affiliates and industry insiders already know awards are for sale, especially when it comes to affiliate sites now polluting the industry with their awards.

I won’t name names for legal reasons and repercussions. In fact, none of them will like this report! All I can say to you is the truth hurts!

Here’s what ChatCPT 4o had to say:

Casinoplusbonus Final Word!

There should be regulations clamping down on fake awards. The UKGC recently banned websites for advertising non-UKGC casino, and should take the same approach with these ‘awards for sale’. Either that or create regulations for these awarding bodies. We’ll soon see disclaimers saying ‘Not for the UK market’.

Awards for sale are essentially immoral and dilute the industry with misinformation. At some point, this has to be addressed, and some of the larger awarding bodies in the industry should name names!