Automation
Email and SMS Rules for Gambling Marketing Automation
Every gambling marketing email or text message needs a clear sender, a working opt-out and a valid permission for that product and channel. The detail differs by market, and the line between a marketing message and a service message is drawn differently in each.
In short
- Identify the sender and include an opt-out in every marketing message.
- A service message with a promotion added becomes a marketing message in Australia, and in the US the primary purpose decides.
- Text messages need a simple opt-out such as a STOP reply.
- Tag every template as marketing, service or protective, and store what was sent.
Scope and limits. Covers email and text messages (SMS) under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), the US CAN-SPAM Act and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and Australia's Spam Act 2003. Phone marketing and push notifications have extra rules not covered here. The market comparison lives on the four-market comparison of consent law.
What every marketing message needs
| Requirement | UK (PECR) and Great Britain (gambling codes) | United States (email) | Canada | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permission | Consent or soft opt-in (PECR) | Not a CAN-SPAM requirement; see TCPA for texts | Express or implied consent (CASL) | Express or inferred consent |
| Sender identified | See Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance on PECR | "Tell recipients where you're located" | Identify yourself and "the persons on whose behalf" it is sent, with a mailing address "valid for a minimum of 60 days" | "accurately identify your name or business name" |
| Opt-out in each message | Opportunity to withdraw each time a consumer is contacted (gambling code) | Required | "include an unsubscribe mechanism in each message" | Required, functional for at least 30 days |
Sources: the Gambling Commission code 5.1.11, the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) CAN-SPAM guide, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's (CRTC) CASL guidance and the Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) spam guidance. Deadlines by market are in opt-out deadlines in each market.
Marketing or service message?
This line matters, because service messages can go to customers who have not opted in to marketing.
- United States. The FTC says "the primary purpose of the message is the deciding factor", and if a recipient reading the subject line would likely conclude the message is commercial, "it's a commercial message for CAN-SPAM purposes."
- Australia. Under section 6 of the Spam Act, a message is commercial if promotion is "the purpose, or one of the purposes" of the message. A message that consists of no more than factual information is a designated commercial electronic message: it is exempt from the consent and unsubscribe rules but must still identify the sender. A withdrawal confirmation with a casino banner is a marketing message.
- United Kingdom. PECR's electronic mail rules apply to direct marketing. A withdrawal receipt or a limit reminder that promotes nothing is generally treated as a service message, but adding an offer makes it marketing. Check edge cases with counsel.
Keep service and protective templates free of promotion, as set out in safeguarding overrides and protective messages.
Text messages
- Keep the opt-out short and visible. The ICO suggests "telling people to send a stop message to a code number."
- Treat any reply that clearly asks to stop, not only the exact keyword, as an opt-out.
- In the US, text marketing falls under the TCPA. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) one-to-one consent rule was vacated in January 2025 and its text later repealed, and its "revoke-all" rule has been delayed to January 31, 2027; see the FCC revocation timeline sources.
Email footer checklist
- The operator's legal name and a contact address.
- One link that opts out of this product on email, and one that opens the full preference center.
- A short safer gambling line with a helpline for the customer's market; the list is on the safer gambling page.
- No pre-ticked choices on the opt-out page, and no login required.
Template and footer controls
- Tag every template as marketing, service or protective, and with its product.
- Block marketing templates for customers without a matching opt-in, using the gate in consent-gated workflows.
- Store the rendered content of each send, so you can show what was sent.
- Apply opt-outs through the opt-out process across systems.
- When comparing sending platforms, check opt-out scope and timing with the evaluation criteria for automation platforms.
Questions
Can an account security email include a bonus offer?
Not if it is to stay a service message. In Australia an added offer makes it marketing, and in the US the primary purpose test applies. Keep security and transaction messages free of offers.
Do we need separate opt-outs for betting and casino emails?
In Great Britain, remote casino, bingo and betting licensees must offer opt-in by product and channel, so a per-product opt-out is the matching control.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business, published August 9, 2023, edited January 2024.
- Information Commissioner's Office, How do we comply with the PECR electronic mail marketing rules?, page dated October 2, 2026.
- Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Frequently Asked Questions about Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, no date shown.
- Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) Guidance on Implied Consent, no date shown.
- Australian Communications and Media Authority, Avoid sending spam, no date shown.
- Federal Register of Legislation, Spam Act 2003 (compilation C2016C00614), compilation dated March 10, 2016.
- Gambling Commission, LCCP Condition 5.1.11 - Direct electronic marketing consent, no date shown.
- Kelley Drye, Eleventh Circuit Vacates TCPA 1:1 Consent Rule, January 25, 2025 (secondary source).
- Federal Communications Commission, Order DA 25-621 (repeal of the revised section 64.1200(f)(9)), adopted and released July 14, 2025.
- Federal Communications Commission, Order DA 26-12, CG Docket No. 02-278 (effective date of section 64.1200(a)(10)), adopted and released January 6, 2026.
Every source was read on October 28, 2026. How we choose sources: data sources.
Safer gambling support is listed on the safer gambling page.