Similar to any other business, investment is necessary to yield returns in iGaming. Affiliates, paradoxically, prioritize expanding your business beforehand and receive compensation only after demonstrating favorable outcomes such as acquiring new players, first-time depositors, or bringing relevant traffic.
Using this model, numerous successful affiliates can get over $100,000 from a single casino while ensuring high traffic and a continuous player flow for the operators. Additionally, affiliates have the ability to attract sub-affiliates with a sizable pool of clients who are prepared to explore the platform and potentially remain there for an extended period.
In this article, you will gain an understanding of iGaming affiliates, discover where to locate suitable affiliates for your gaming platform, and most importantly, learn how to effectively collaborate with them to secure the best deals and services.
Identifying the right affiliates for your business involves finding those who have a strong audience in your area of interest. These affiliates can help to promote even your narrow niche games. Here are some common types of online gambling and sports betting affiliates.
It’s a great idea to have your affiliate program featured on gambling portals with listicles, ratings or reviews. Such examples are AskGambler, which has a Casino Affiliate Programs directory, or AffPapa, a platform with the mission to match gambling businesses with the relevant affiliates. Many of these platforms consistently deliver high traffic, so there’s a good chance that some of their users will find your platform worth checking.
Utilizing popular streamers can increase your casino’s visibility and attract fresh players. You can offer them a one-time payment or a percentage of the revenue generated by each client they bring.
These individuals are active on well-known streaming sites such as Twitch or YouTube Live, as well as on sites specifically for live streaming online gambling. Affiliate marketing is exemplified by the promotion of different online poker platforms by one of the most famous poker players, Daniel Negreanu.
Like streamers, bloggers can also send their audience to your platform with an article, listicle, vlog or direct advertisement, receiving a commission for each referred client. They can be influencers and publishers from different social media platforms such as LinkedIn or TikTok – depending on your game’s specifications.
Re-publishers are extensive platforms that can place your games on their websites: marketing agencies, refer-a-friend model deals, etc. The B2B sector brings to the table an extensive offering, and you can browse LinkedIn or Facebook for companies that will redirect traffic to your website and pick the right ones for your business.
Once we have identified iGaming affiliates and gained a comprehensive understanding of their operations, the next step is to search for the most suitable affiliates for our business. Initially, this may seem like a challenging task, but with focused research, you will be surprised to discover the abundance of affiliates available and how many are willing to collaborate with you.
Every year, there are countless events, conferences, and exhibitions that bring together the worldwide iGaming community. These gatherings attract affiliate marketers, casino operators, software providers, and affiliates from all corners of the globe. Every event has its own particular focus, regional emphasis, and format. Here you can get acquainted and partner with affiliates depending on your casino level, region, games, and niches.
(!) Some of the most famous and attended events are ICE London, SBC Events, iGB events, iGaming Club by AffPapa, and more.
As mentioned prior, there are numerous platforms and media focused on casino affiliate marketing that bring together casinos and affiliates. Many of them provide detailed information about casinos operating in different regions and showcase their detailed offers and rates. Here you can find affiliates who would agree to cooperate both with startup casinos and established brands.
Another good idea is to add your casino information in such media, directories, and blogs so affiliates also can find you based on your preferences. Here are some of the most popular iGaming affiliate portals:
AskGamblers: AskGamblers has more than a decade of experience. It provides excellent opportunities to promote your brand and features the latest information on online casinos, including the best casino reviews and ratings by both experts and real players.
GPWA: Established in 2001, the Gambling Portal Webmasters Association (GPWA) fosters collaboration among its 15,000 affiliate members and strengthens their relationships with affiliate programs worldwide.
Affiliate Guard Dog: As a pioneer in iGaming B2B affiliate marketing, Affiliate Guard Dog has demonstrated its effectiveness in uniting a robust iGaming community and facilitating the swift and effortless resolution of certification and other concerns for companies.
AffPapa: AffPapa is a directory where operators can log in and search for affiliates based on their preferred GEOs, product types, commission models, monthly visitors, etc.
(!) For the fullest list, check our compilation of popular and reliable iGaming affiliate networks.
Another effective way of partnering with the right affiliates is searching and collecting a list of the most relevant affiliate partners in your industry and region. Just by a simple search, you can learn about their preferred deal types and familiarize yourself with the commission structures they are accustomed to.
Engage in discussions with them and offer partnership models that serve the interests of both parties. Note that many affiliates are not included in some lists or directories, and it would be more efficient to find and reach them personally, discussing all the important topics directly with them.
Depending on your business niche – be it a poker platform targeting a specific region or a worldwide betting website – you will face different commission rates and varying game rules. When building your iGaming affiliate marketing channel, you should understand which commission types and rates are popular in your niche and region.
This is one of the most common types of deals. If you want to set a special cost for new users brought by affiliates, you should initiate a cost-per-acquisition type of deal.
Generally, affiliates ask for $0.50 – $20 per CPA offer, but it may depend on your niche, brand popularity, and other factors that we will discuss further.
PartnerMatrix’s data, based on 60,000+ gambling affiliates, shows that the average CPA offer in the iGaming industry varies around $50-100 per acquisition. These numbers are based on the fact that the return on investment in iGaming is very high.
Tip: If you have a start-up that has already gained some popularity, try to find affiliates on your business level. They usually agree to cooperate with lower rates. Because, as in your case, they also need to prove their efficiency before asking for higher rates.
First-Time Depositor types of commissions are very popular in the gaming sector, where users must make their first payment in order to play a game. It can be mobile games with paid upgrades, casino platforms with cash games like poker, roulette and slots, sports betting platforms, or esports betting like DOTA or CS: GO.
Affiliates get their commissions only when the players make their first-time deposit. Again, you can be flexible and decide whether you’re paying a percentage of the revenue generated or a fixed commission per deposit threshold. For example, only when a user reaches a $100+ deposit, you pay a one-time fixed commission of $15.
The revshare model implies that operators set a commission plan for the affiliates and pay a share of all the revenue generated by each referred user. This basically means casinos must share a chunk of the revenue generated by the player for a long time, or even for as long as that customer stays with their website.
You need to analyse the numerous existing possibilities in terms of the percentage paid, timeframe (year, month or day) and so on, then choose the revshare model that best fits your business. For example, you can opt to pay a tier-based, progressive commission that is calculated for a certain timeframe – a year, a month or a day.
Example of a tier-based, progressive commission calculated for a monthly timeframe.
Tip: In reality, these models can be mixed and reshaped, creating hybrid commission types. You can offer a combined CPA+Revshare model, creating more favourable terms than your competitors. And remember, the same as rates, deal types can also vary based on region, source, niche, product, or affiliate.
In a nutshell, give your affiliates handy tools, and they will help you achieve your goals. The ability to manage your affiliate system easily and quickly is the key step in engaging and keeping affiliates active. You must provide all the possible tools that your affiliates will ask in order to bring you more traffic:
To do this, you will need to find a suitable affiliate system that can be easily integrated with your platform and will be able to cover the entire marketing cycle. To narrow down your search results, look for a marketing affiliate software supplier validated by industry awards, with a large client base and an approach individually tailored for each client.
Any successful business is based on mutual trust, and that cannot be achieved without transparency. You should choose an affiliate system that can provide all the data needed for it, as well as quick feedback opportunities.
Some essential tools and techniques to help you achieve transparency and great customer support are:
In general, uninterrupted operations are one of the most important components of affiliate marketing. An inaccurate link problem can result in the loss of thousands of dollars and waste all the efforts of affiliates. Constant communication with partners will help eliminate such an issue.
Tip: Before thinking about your affiliate channel and how you are going to position yourself in the market, it’s good to understand the behaviour and psychology of marketing affiliates. Here are 7 Successful Amazon Affiliate Websites that you can learn from.
We’ve also put together for you a list with popular iGaming affiliate operators worth checking as good examples:
How to find top affiliates in your niche? Now, based on your knowledge and approaches, you can conduct your own research, find the right partners and start activating the affiliate channels.
In fact, your goal is to reach a level where affiliates themselves will start finding you – based on the status of your company, overall awareness, and reputation. And you can build such a reputation by doing your due diligence and making sure you achieve the milestones we have discussed: great support, a seamless system, flexible payment methods and attractive commission fees. And, of course, excellent iGaming products and services that affiliates and their audiences will be interested in.
If you’re looking for advanced affiliate software for your casino or gaming platform, reach out for a live demo presentation of the PartnerMatrix system!
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