White Label

Definition

The offering of a Gaming Operation as a B2B Service, rendered by an Operator to a Third Party as if the Third Party is the Operator that is responsible for the Gaming Operation.

The definition of “white label” further explained

A white label is a product or service that is sold by a retailer with its own branding and logo, however, the product or service itself is manufactured or rendered by a third party. This sometimes makes sense from a commercial perspective, in order to enhance a successful brand to offer a service without having to invest in it. The company actually manufacturing the product or rendering the service might only be interested in providing specialist services without being visible. This would allow them to do business with several retailers under several names. The setup is no longer considered “white label” as soon as the third party actually manufacturing the product or rendering the service would be visible in the offering as well as referred to as the responsible party.

Examples of white labeling

Smaller banks may sometimes outsource their credit card or check processing operations to larger banks, which issue and process the credit cards as white label cards, typically for a fee, allowing the smaller bank to brand the cards as their own without having to invest in the necessary infrastructure. An example of a commonly used white label setup in the gaming industry would be a customer services API on a gaming website, a ticker tape or an advertisements API.

The practice of “white labeling” within the gaming industry, is it legal?

Although there is, in principle, nothing wrong with using a third party via API to enhance a website, the practice of attributing rights to a third party by existing operators, to offer games of chance by themselves is not allowed. It is after all the license holder that has been tasked to see to it that rules and regulations are observed. The holder of such rights is allowed to work with other parties to accomplish its business goals, however as the holder of the license is to remain visible in all service offerings at all times, this does not qualify as white labeling. The latter setup is also not allowed. After all, the intermediary would then attribute rights to third parties without mentioning the license holder and without accepting responsibility.

Attributing rights to use a gaming platform, for example, would be acceptable, however would not be allowed, any setups in which the use of that platform would also, combined with that platform, attribute the right to a third party to offer games of changes (that is the practice accepting contractual wagers and be responsible for payouts).

CEG's position on white labeling

CEG does work with intermediaries and resellers in order to connect to potential operators who wish to offer games of chance to the market, however would a potential cooperation with an operator only be possible by assuming full responsibility under the IP-agreement, with CEG mentioned as its (private) regulator. This is a common practice, also now seen with gaming companies such as within the Netherlands regime, closing an “alliance” with other companies in order to work together in offering games of chance to the market. This practice however does not fall under the definition of “white labeling” as CEG's brand, as the company holding the license, has to remain visible at all times

Whenever a business practice is referred to as “white labeling” make sure to verify that this designation is correct, as the term is widely used and subsequently misused and misunderstood. Are you familiar with setups that pose as white label companies selling the right to offer games of chance? Let us know by clicking on the link below.