Episode Details

State of the Second host Kaylee and her co-host sit down with Ben, the CEO and founder of Otter Waiver, to talk through one of the quieter fights in the firearms industry: getting a marketing message to land at all. Ben explains how his company grew from a digital waiver tool into Otter Technologies, adding Otter Text after gun ranges and retailers kept getting kicked off mainstream texting platforms. He built the texting product in 2022, and when carriers and big providers started dropping firearms businesses in 2023, his company became one of the few solutions still standing in the space.

Much of the conversation digs into who actually sets the rules. Ben breaks down that compliance runs at the federal level through the TCPA and the CTIA, then again at the carrier level, where companies like T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint enforce their own terms of service. He argues the recent T-Mobile changes mostly followed fines the CTIA had already set, and that the real shift was carriers wanting to audit and approve traffic before it goes out. His core message: the idea that you can't say 'gun' or 'ammo' in a text is false. Follow the regulations, age-gate the website, register the campaign on a 10DLC number, and restrict to 21 and up, and a business can advertise firearms directly. He points to a husband-and-wife e-commerce shop that spends about $30,000 a year on text and pulls in 2.4 million, and a client who canceled radio ads after keyword tracking proved no return.

The hosts widen the lens to data privacy and platform suppression. Ben describes refusing to store serial numbers or trackable data tied to a person, and Kaylee ties that to ATF record collection and de facto registries. They also cover shadow banning on Meta, the difficulty of even being found on Instagram, and the recent moves by X and Rumble to approve firearms advertising. Ben presses GOA to fight to lower the federal age threshold from 21 to 18, and notes his company donates 1% of revenue to 2A causes.

Links

• otterwaiver.com

Questions this episode answers

Why are gun ranges and firearms retailers getting kicked off mainstream text marketing platforms?

Starting in 2023, carriers and big providers began dropping firearms businesses from mainstream texting platforms, leaving Otter Text as one of the few solutions still serving gun ranges and retailers in the space.

Who actually regulates firearms text marketing, the federal government or the carriers?

Both. Compliance runs at the federal level through the TCPA and the CTIA, and then again at the carrier level, where T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint enforce their own terms of service.

Can a firearms business legally say 'gun' or 'ammo' in a marketing text?

Yes. Otter Waiver's founder says the idea that you can't say 'gun' or 'ammo' in a text is false. Follow the regulations, age-gate the site, register the campaign on a 10DLC number, and restrict to 21 and up, and a business can advertise firearms directly.

What does it take to stay compliant so carriers like T-Mobile won't fine you?

Age-gate the website, register the campaign on a 10DLC number, and restrict messaging to 21 and up. The recent T-Mobile changes mostly followed fines the CTIA had already set, with carriers now wanting to audit and approve traffic before it goes out.

Why is firearms text marketing restricted to 21 and up, and should that age be lowered?

Compliance currently requires restricting firearms texting to 21 and up. Otter Waiver's founder presses Gun Owners of America to fight to lower the federal age threshold from 21 to 18.

How profitable can text message marketing be for a small firearms business?

Otter Waiver's founder points to a husband-and-wife e-commerce shop that spends about $30,000 a year on text an