TikTok does not allow gambling-related content on the platform for its US market, as strictly enforced by the moderation process that the social media platform has implemented.
The introduction and popularity of social media app, TikTok, in 2016 offered users a new opportunity for the creation of gambling affiliate markets looking to capitalise on the virality of the app.
Success on this app is based on creating videos that capture the imagination of its users.
Moreover, when the app was introduced, the rules and regulations that governed it were not as strict as they are currently.
This is because in recent years, TikTok has taken stricter measures to ban content that was previously advertised on the platform including gambling affiliate marketing.
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TikTok as an ideal platform for casino affiliate marketing
Seeing as TikTok is a social media app that operates on the premise of its users uploading videos to get more followers and virality on the app, in theory, it made for the ideal platform for gambling and casino affiliate marketing.
Gambling and casino affiliate marketing advertise best with short, compelling, and enticing content about playing with luck in the hopes of yielding greater rewards.
As such, the platform is ideal for the casino and marketing affiliate marketer. It is even more ideal considering there are plenty of influencers willing to promote these brands or companies for a fee.
TikTok does not allow gambling-related content on the platform in the United States (US). Moreover, it is more difficult to cheat the system on the platform due to how meticulously the content is moderated on the platform.
Unlike social media platforms like Facebook, which uses algorithms and mechanised systems to regulate whether content is appropriate for the platform or not, TikTok is different.
Allegedly, the platform has people who actually moderate the content and decide if it is appropriate for the platform. Therefore, there are less chances for users to manipulate the system and have their content pass through onto the platform.
The biggest reason for the strict measures that the platform has taken with their restriction controls is the backlash that the company has faced of late.
In recent years, TikTok has been ridiculed particularly for the leniency it has shown for cryptocurrency, financial services, and gambling to be promoted on the platform.
As such, in 2021, the company made headlines after sharing its updated policy terms and conditions. The new policy resulted in over 11 million accounts being banned from the app.
In the US, the primary reasons why gambling and casino marketing is prohibited is the age group of TikTok users, the implications of TikTok endorsing this nature of advertisement, and the backlash it garners.
How TikTok’s age demographic resulted in the ban of gambling content
Gambling in the US is legal and is not frowned upon, so why would TikTok ban gambling and casino affiliate marketing on the platform?
The biggest reason is the age demographic of TikTok users. Most of the platform’s active users are 19 years old or younger or are millennials under the age of 39 years old.
As such, considering that most users can be regarded “young and impressionable,” the advertising of gambling content can lead to the wrong impression for its users.
Another concern for the app, and reason why it banned gambling-related content is the implication of TikTok endorsing the content.
In endorsing the content, TikTok would be implying that it believes in the authenticity of the messages put forward by the content creators promoting casino-affiliated ad campaigns.
If, in this case, it is later discovered or proven that the promoted content is a scam, TikTok would also be implicated, which would not bode well for the credibility and success of the app.
Therefore, the platform decided it was better to simply ban all gambling-related content to be safe.
The backlash received by TikTok in the past
One of the biggest criticisms TikTok has recently faced is regarding the amount of investment and financial portfolio accounts that were on the platform.
These accounts promoted cryptocurrency and financial investment schemes that, for the most part, turned out to be scams.
This is especially problematic when you consider that the platform is mostly used by teenagers and Gen Z users.
This resulted in TikTok not only banning related accounts, but also banning sex-related content, cigarette-related content, and gambling-related content.
Overall, TikTok banned over 7.3 million accounts that were believed to have been created by underage users.
