Link building for a gambling site is not only an SEO question. The pages you promote belong to a regulated business, and the places that carry your links can fall under advertising rules in the country where readers live. This short guide covers the basics. It is general information, not legal advice, and you should ask a lawyer who knows your markets.
Licences come first
Most markets require an operator to hold a licence before offering gambling to residents. Affiliates may need their own registration or must at least promote only licensed brands. Before you buy links for a site, confirm that the site or the brands it promotes hold what each target market requires. We may decline requests that look unlicensed, and so should any vendor you use.
Advertising rules differ by country
Countries set their own rules on what gambling advertising may say, where it may appear and who may see it. Some restrict bonus offers, some require responsible gambling messages and some limit promotion in particular channels. A link from an article is a form of promotion, so the page it points to and the article around it both matter.
- Check which markets you are allowed to target and which you are not.
- Do not send links to landing pages that target restricted markets.
- Keep offers described accurately, with terms easy to find.
- Include the responsible gambling information your market requires.
Adults only
Gambling content is for adults. The minimum age is 18 in many places and higher in others, so use the legal age of the market you target. Content that appeals to minors, or that treats gambling as a way to make money, is a problem for regulators as well as for search engines. We publish no content aimed at minors, and we do not write copy that encourages people to gamble or talks about winnings or returns.
Crypto promotion and payments
Crypto casinos and Telegram betting products face extra questions. Some regulators treat crypto promotion as a separate regulated area, and some countries limit gambling that accepts crypto altogether. If your product accepts crypto, check what applies in each market before you plan a campaign. Nothing in a link plan is financial advice, and you should not describe any token or payment method in terms of returns.
Disclosure matters too. Affiliates are often required to disclose commercial relationships. Where a link is paid, search engines also ask that it be marked with the attributes they provide, and this is part of why buying links to influence ranking can go against their policies. Decide how your business handles disclosure before you place links, not after. If you are unsure whether a page meets the rules of a market, leave that market out of the plan until a lawyer has confirmed it. A smaller, compliant campaign is a better base than a wide one that creates legal exposure.
What this means when you order links
Before you contact any vendor, prepare a short compliance file. It saves time and shows the vendor that you take the rules seriously.
- The licence or registration for each market you target.
- The list of brands and landing pages you want to link.
- The markets you will not target, and the reason for each exclusion.
- Your disclosure and responsible gambling approach.
Give any vendor your licence status and your target markets up front. Expect them to ask, and be wary of a seller who does not. On our side, we ask for your niche and target market on the request form, and we may decline requests that look misleading or aimed at restricted markets. You can read how we describe the business on the about page and how we set limits on the network standards page. To start a request, use the contact page.
Search guidelines and tactics change over time, and results can never be promised. Check current rules for your market and treat any link plan as a risk you choose to take.