The gaming industry is experiencing unprecedented times as government and health officials raise the alarm for the coronavirus /Covid-19/ spread, asking for as much isolation as possible to halt the outbreak, as a result of which almost all land-based gaming facilities close down.

Affiliates Should Behave

For online operators, shutting down brick-and-mortar venues means an opportunity to channel more players to their operations. But even in the process of that channeling there should be boundaries that noone should cross, less so operators’ affiliates.

In a message sent to all of its affiliate partners, the Irish-based gaming operator Flutter Entertainment fired a warning that abiding by the marketing guidelines of the company and the code of conduct with regards to the new menace, Covid-19, would be of utmost importance for any future partnership, and any mentioning of the subject for marketing purposes would be terminal for the affiliate’s deal.

“Partners are not allowed to reference coronavirus in any marketing materials when promoting PPB (Paddy Power Betfair) brands. We will have zero tolerance on this type of activity and partners will be suspended immediately.”

Code Of Conduct vs Profits

The warning towards all affiliates comes at times when almost all sports events that generate revenue for the sports betting operators are cancelled or postponed, with no football in Europe’s top 5 national leagues, and no action in all major leagues in the US. Even the Euro 2020 European Football Championship has been postponed to 2021.

The closure of land-based casinos present new potential for online operators, yet Flutter chooses the proper way to promote its business, refusing to take advantage of the situation other industry companies are in due to the virus outbreak.

Recently, Flutter Entertainment issued an update to all interested parties that its 2020 financial expectations are closely related to the spread of the Covid-19 menace, and under certain conditions it expects to take a hit on its revenue to the extent of $110 million.

No New Update On TSG Merger

Flutter Entertainment, the owner and operator of Paddy Power Betfair exchange is currenty undergoing a merger with the Canadian-based gaming operator The Stars Group, in an attempt to create the world’s biggest online betting and gaming company, as the combined group will have more than 13 million active customers in more than 100 international markets.

The merger is scheduled to complete somewhere around the second or the third quarter this year, but with the current global gaming situation and gaming operators taking significant hits on their revenue due to the cancellation of sports events, it is not clear how recent developments will influence the merger deal and whether it will complete as planned.