what is rmg approval

What Is RMG Approval?

Starting an online raffle (prize competition) business is not as straightforward as you may think! There are many hoops to jump through to ensure that everything is above board and following a whole variety of rules and regulations.

In order to successfully build such a business, a great deal of marketing is needed to sell the tickets needed to make the business worth while. The marketing strategies of all online raffle businesses will be to reach as many potential raffle ticket buyers as possible. Marketing budgets can disappear very quickly, so choosing where to spend this budget must be done wisely.

The most successful online platform to promote online raffles is Facebook/Meta. A huge majority will use this platform over any other, simply because it can work very well, if done correctly. Furthermore, Facebook has over 3 Billion people using it per month. 

Applying for RMG Approval

In order to advertise online raffles on Meta, a business is required to apply for permission to promote ‘online gambling or gaming’. Despite online raffles (prize competitions) not officially being classed as gambling by the UK Gambling Commission, Meta still requires an application to gain ‘RMG’ approval, and rightly so. 

RMG stands for ‘Real Money Gambling’. This is referring to businesses who require some type of monetary value in order to enter an online raffle.

Facebook confirms in their policies the following:-

  • All forms of online gambling. Some common types of gambling include betting, lotteries, raffles, casino games, fantasy sports, bingo, poker, skill game tournaments and sweepstakes.
  • Games where anything of monetary value is included as part of a method of entry and anything of monetary value is included as part of the prize, including but not limited to cash or digital currencies such as Bitcoin. This includes games that require purchases to continue gameplay or provide an advantage in winning prizes in cases where the prize is of monetary value.
  • Ads with destination (landing) pages that contain promotions for online gambling or games, even if there is no opportunity to gamble or game directly on that page, such as aggregator or affiliate sites.

Businesses that fall under any of the categories above must apply for RMG approval. Only until RMG approval has been received from Meta can a business then begin to advertise on the Meta platform.

RMG Application Process

The RMG application process can take some time. The truth is, Meta is not particularly quick at getting back to those who apply. It can take months, and in some cases, years! 

Meta states the following:-

To run ads that promote online gambling and gaming, advertisers will need to request written permission from Meta. They must provide evidence that the gambling activities are appropriately licensed by a regulator or otherwise established as lawful in territories that they want to target. Additionally, Meta doesn’t allow targeting for online gambling and gaming ads to people under the age of 18

Applicants for RMG Approval will be required to provide the following information:-

  • The region the business would like to advertise eg. United Kingdom
  • The domain name of the business
  • An explanation of how the business will prevent those under 18 years old from accessing the website associated with the domain name.
  • Written confirmation from a solicitor that the online raffle business in question does not require a gambling licence to operate.
  • The Facebook Ad Account to be used to run ads

You can see the full application process when viewing Meta’s RMG application form

Can an RMG Application be Rejected?

Yes, an RMG application can be rejected. Meta requires every box to be ticked in order to approve a business to advertise on the Meta platform. Many online raffle businesses will pay a specialised business or solicitor to ensure that everything is in place before an application is made. This can ensure a much quicker approval process by Meta.

**Oh, and by the way, Rafflers is an RMG Approved business. Even though we don’t provide and online raffles ourselves, we were required to gain the RMG approval. This is because we promote approved raffle providers and Meta wanted to be clear on how we run these businesses through our vetting process.