Definition
A mirror site is a replica of an original site used by gambling sites. It provides customers access to their site when the normal website address has been blocked by the local government or regulator. This is because some countries, such as India, do not allow sites to promote online gambling. The bookmakers are not able to get a license to operate in the country or an individual state.
In India, for example, gambling laws are the responsibility of individual states. This means to obtain a licence for gambling the bookmaker would have to apply separately to each state to become a regulated gambling site. In addition, it is often illegal to promote gambling in many of these countries. Official sites are often blocked as they are seen to be breaking this rule
In some instances bookmakers also use mirror sites to manage web traffic and enhance the availability of the original site. They are sometimes used in the case of technical problems with the original site. It helps to reduce the loss of revenues and customer churn due to availability issues. Users can be automatically redirected to the mirror site when the original site is suffering from technical difficulties. However, the most common purpose is to respond to the local government blocking the site, and so it allows users based in the country to continue to access the bookmaker’s site.
How Many Mirror Sites Do Bookmakers Create?
To avoid the authorities blocking individual mirror sites, bookmakers will have multiple mirror sites with different URLs. These are exact copies of the original site and allow users to continue to access the full range of games and services available on the official site. Bookmakers will often email their existing customers with the new web address so that users can easily find the mirror site.
Resources:
How bonuses are used on gaming sites – The secrets of optimising gambling sites – Bonuses
The challenge of sign-up forms on gaming sites – Why are registration forms on gambling sites so poor?
Key metrics for gambling sites – First time deposit
