Online gambling may be a safer option than visiting a casino (assuming you can find one that’s still open) in these pandemic times, but claiming so in public is increasingly seen as a social responsibility no-no.

On Friday, affiliate marketing partners of UK-listed gambling giant Flutter Entertainment reported receiving emails from the company instructing them in no uncertain terms that making any reference to the COVID-19 coronavirus while pitching Flutter’s brands would result in the immediate suspension of Flutter’s relationship with the offending affiliate.

Flutter’s “zero tolerance” policy towards virus-related marketing has been echoed by Nordic online gambling operator Kindred Group, the parent company of the Unibet betting brand. The operators were reportedly forced to act after at least one affiliate pitched customers on the benefits of gambling with a “coronavirus safe casino.”

Meanwhile, the Netherlands gambling regulator, which earlier this week warned both online and land-based gambling operators about pitching ‘corona-free’ products, has now added some financial bite to that regulatory bark.