Earning client trust and industry recognition

Recently PartnerMatrix was acknowledged as Affiliate Supplier of the Year by the prestigious EGR B2B Award. On this occasion, Levon Nikoghosyan of PartnerMatrix describes what shifts the affiliate market experienced throughout the years, what solutions the company provides, and how to build a high-performing and profitable affiliate channel for a casino platform.

How did you end up in the affiliate market?

LN: When I started working in the iGaming industry in 2013, affiliates were already getting popular, and some brands were on their way to becoming industry giants. Casinos were also actively searching for new and more effective traffic sources. But the niche of affiliate software providers wasn’t very diverse. There were a few established names, but the market was missing a fresh, functional, and secure affiliate system.

In 2015, together with some like-minded friends, we gathered a team of professionals and came up with an idea. Fortunately for us, the management of EveryМatrix, one of the leading iGaming suppliers, liked our idea. That is how the story of PartnerMatrix began.

As is usually the case, it was pretty tough for us to find our first clients. The first step is always the hardest, but after someone uses your product and likes it, the word begins to spread, people hear about your product, and more clients will follow.

In just a few years, we started to get international recognition and began partnering with brands from different markets all over the world. Now you can find big names such as RioBet, FortuneJack, DafaBet, PowerCasino, and Digitain, among many others in our client list. From the beginning, we have been constantly focusing on our clients’ needs and, in some cases, trying to overdeliver on their demands.

EGR: Did PartnerMatrix have any particular highlights this year which have contributed to your win? 

LN: 2022 was one of the most active years for PartnerMatrix in terms of new features and services. We recently introduced the anti-fraud intelligence tool, a system that aims to detect and prevent fraudulent actions. With the rise of scams in the affiliate industry, having the best anti-fraud tool has become mandatory for all operators. The system can now find and prevent the most common affiliate frauds, adding new modules as new threats emerge. 

We have also developed special programms for new clients, including startups and established operators, offering them our most personalised services. For example, if you’re switching your affiliate system to PartnerMatrix, our team will provide a special setup and integration service, including seamless migration of your information to the new system. After undergoing many overhauls, updates and new additions, we managed to reach 200 top clients in 2022. In my opinion, all of our efforts, blood and sweat have lead to our recognition by the EGR B2B Awards. 

EGR: How does PartnerMatrix understand the market needs and they evolved over time?

LN: Let’s take, for example, the moment when the Covid lockdown started in early 2020. Back then, it was obvious that online gaming, and especially esports, were going to blow up in terms of popularity. Our clients would eventually want tools to promote their esports section, and to answer those needs, we started adapting the system and adding new features. That led to a win-win situation, where our clients were bringing in more traffic than their competitors, and our system was becoming popular among esports providers. But since our software is always getting more updates, we try to set up the system in the most convenient way for every type of casino, their affiliate program policy, and the marketing strategies they use.

Speaking about development, affiliate marketing is now more lead-generation oriented than it was five years ago. I remember the times when casinos were buying tons of traffic, paying affiliates per click. And nobody knew who these clickers were, but in reality, most of them were random people who accidentally clicked the ad and would probably leave your platform immediately.

Over the years, a few popular commission models were developed, with cost-per-acquisition rising at the top and gaining popularity. Today casinos pay affiliates primarily for a tangible result: registered players who spend money or make the first deposit. The market has become more predictable since then, the game it’s played by established rules, and it is easier to do business based on various tools and affiliate types while considering the previous experience of other casinos.

EGR: What is the most pressing topic of affiliate marketing today?

LN: Security is a topic that has always been relevant, and nowadays, I think it’s more important than ever. Frequent frauds result from huge amounts of money that have started to circulate in the industry. A casino may try to cheat an affiliate and pay fewer commissions. An affiliate can cheat the casino and try to get more commissions. The scammer can also be a third party who simply wants to hack into the system and withdraw the funds.

The topic of fraud is always relevant, scammers always use advanced technology to cheat casinos or affiliates, and our primary goal as a software provider is to prevent violations at the intent stage. To achieve maximum security, we rely on our knowledge and many years of experience working with casinos and affiliates.

EGR: In what direction is both PartnerMatrix and the affiliate marketing heading?

LN: Both affiliate marketing and PartnerMatrix are going in the same direction – towards transparency. Casinos and affiliates want direct access to important information and reports from trustworthy and reputable software providers. In order to stay competitive, casinos need to act fast, boost profitable channels or prevent harmful sources without delay. With the help of real-time reports, other tools and techniques, affiliate operations are becoming safer and more transparent.

Now, most casinos and affiliates are also looking for a comfortable, user-friendly interface with all reports at hand and intuitive navigation to make quick changes in the system. To provide such solutions, we need to be in touch constantly with all the business sides. Thanks to EGR B2B Awards recognition as Affiliate software supplier of the year, we are as motivated as ever to continue putting our seven years of experience into creating transparent and equal infrastructure that connects iGaming operators with the right affiliates.

The original version of this interview was published in the EGR Intel Magazine (Winner’s edition) under the title Earning client trust and industry recognition.