1. Shadow blocking The response of online gambling to the advent of ad-blocking Webinar, 14 January 2016 Scott Longley Report for iGaming Business in partnership with Clear Concise Media

2. The statistics – the iAB UK September 2015 Number of respondents using ad-blocking software up to 18% from 15% in June Most prevalent in younger age-group – 35% of 18-24 year olds (i.e. millennials) v 13% of over-55s 57% of ad-block users using it to block all ads Of those who use ad-blockers, 71% do so on laptops and desktop PCs while 23% use it on mobile Only one in seven ad-blocker users said they would be less likely to block ads if they were more relevant

3. Global ad-block usage France up to 30%; Germany approaching 40% Globally 300 million people have downloaded ad-blocking software according to some estimates; only half have actually installed it PageFair/Adobe ‘The Cost of Ad-Blocking’ report for 2015 found that ad-block usage in the year to June globally rose 41% 77 million people in Europe now resort to ad-blockers Google Chrome main driver – ad-blocking usage up 51% on the year to 126 million monthly actives in Q2

4. Ad-blocking coming to mobile Ad blocking software added to Safari browser in September 16% of all mobile Firefox users utilising ad-blockers in Q2 The ‘ask politely’ response almost useless – according to PageFair there was less than a 1% response rate

5. Short-term confidence Online gambling industry and its affiliates can resort to “trench warfare” and playing a game of cat and mouse with ad-blockers Online gambling also does not rely on display advertising - % of ad spend will vary widely, but average figure maybe as low as 20% of total digital marketing budget Not going to run out of inventory any time soon Affiliates more used to using textual links and buttons Can move from third-party ad servers to first-party Sports-betting less affected that gaming

6. Ad-blocking seen in context Lisa Ravenscroft, head of brand strategy at William Hill: “Marketers are constantly reacting to changes in consumer behaviour, so the challenge has to be kept in context. Those who currently use ad-blockers are also the segment with the lowest receptiveness to advertising.”

7. But… ad-blocking is a real reaction General rejection of intrusive banner advertising should be seen as the canary in the coalmine Part of the bigger trend regarding privacy concerns and the use of tracking Upside of the rise of ad-blocking is the promotion of a debate around the effectiveness of advertising and brand values.

8. Affiliates in the cross-hairs Affiliates cast as both victims and potential saviours Bookmakers creative ‘tired, repetitive and out of date’ according to one affiliate Back to basics approach for affiliates can work – utilising icons, buttons and text links Engrained marketing works best – exclusive promotions and educational articles The content marketing push

9. Native advertising – nobody likes ads Brian MacSweeney, UK director at Betgenius: “Native advertising is part of the realisation that most consumers don’t actually like your ads and don’t want to have a conversation with your brand. Advertisers may see native advertising as a quick fix, but if the content isn’t of value, relevant and useful it’s not going to work.”

10. Knowing your customer Audience fine with personalisation if they get to opt in ‘Last click’ advertising unnerving and likely counter-productive No one like being stalked – remarketing has an annoyance factor Yet is the industry actually any good at personalisation?

11. The future Online consumer evolving at pace Questionable whether the online gambling companies are keeping up But personalisation ‘done right’ can work ‘Think about the message’ Smart marketing not about simply calling for a bigger sledgehammer Look to brand advertising Production values count

12. A last message Johnny Ryan at PageFair “What the web has never done in its first 20 years is to be a really good place for brand advertising. That is when you take out an expensive ad and it conveys the sense of a brand. It’s sustainable, it’s pleasurable to look at and it’s expensive to produce.”

13. Contact: Scott Longley scott@clearconcisemedia.com (+44) 7899 873017