Competitiveness in affiliate marketing is becoming fierce as the numbers grow worldwide. This is due to the emergence of new markets and the overall development of the iGaming industry, generating more money than the Hollywood movie industry (which is around $140 billion). The $173 billion market predicted to be worth could reach $200 billion before 2023 and treble by 2027.
Simultaneously, since 2010, the amount spent on affiliate marketing has gradually risen, indicating that more businesses are increasing their investments and taking advantage of affiliate channels. With new brands launching their affiliate channels every day, new risks and fraud attempts are also becoming more frequent. In this article, we tried to cover all the essential events that happened in the iGaming affiliate industry in 2022, and what the foreseeable future holds for 2023.
The casino industry in the U.S. has a rich history; however, online gambling started to gain momentum only recently when legislation was amended at the federal level. Now each state decides its own gaming legislation, and at the moment, online gambling is allowed in six states: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Nonetheless, the online market is predicted to reach up to 7 billion by the end of 2022, which is bigger than in most Europe countries. This is also thanks to the rise of interest in online gambling after the Covid-19 impact, while the spread of mobile devices also accessed many new users to online gaming. The market is predicted to continue growing while activating new opportunities for affiliate marketers.
Things are also going well in Europe, with forecasts suggesting that the market value will reach around $30 billion by 2022. The general trend is also visible in European countries. This is both market liberalization and general access to online games through smartphones. The latest technological, crypto and V.R. solutions also play their part in popularizing games or activating players.
U.K. – Online gambling market size values at around $15 billion in 2022. Being one of the most saturated and legally strict markets, it is also dynamic and flexible for all kinds of affiliate activities.
France – Over the previous year, the value of the online games market in France was estimated at $5.6 billion. It should be noted that the market is growing and developing, and this applies to both casinos and online betting.
Germany – The market is valued at $2 million and is expected to grow to $3 billion by 2024. Online gambling activities are allowed in the country, though they are regulated by strict legislation.
Spain – In the first three months of 2022 alone, the Spanish iGaming market increased by 14.83% in gross gaming revenue (GGR), reaching $207.36 million. The Spanish segment has been developing very fast in recent years due to new amendments to the legislation and an increased interest in online betting and casino.
(!) The European market, due to the developed online infrastructure, is more competitive for affiliate marketing. Oddly enough, the U.S. market, as well as Asian and African countries, are more open to new casinos and affiliates. Another emerging region is Latin America with already established gaming markets in such countries as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.
One of the trendiest topics of the year continues to be online restrictions for casinos. Google is still unyielding when it comes to gambling restrictions while allowing ads for certified casinos in certain legislated markets. But another massive content generator for iGaming, Twitch, recently started to allow only certified casino streamers after totally banning gambling content at the beginning of 2022.
Twitch’s official statement says: “We’ll be making policy update on October 18th to prohibit streaming of gambling sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games that aren’t licensed either in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection.”
Despite the strictness of online rules, the market is starting to slowly liberalize, making steps towards legislated and responsible gaming, while affiliate marketing still ranks first among all reliable and measurable traffic sources.
In these situations, affiliates can be more useful than advertising. In essence, affiliates are recommending your games to those who are already interested in them. It is because of its effectiveness that many affiliates can receive commissions from a casino for more than $50-100K monthly.
Being an iGaming operator may sometimes seem challenging due to the market’s intense competition and the ongoing pressure that comes from the different countries’ gambling rules. Worse yet, operators and affiliates are now frequent targets of fraud.
But by understanding market rules and using the right tools, you can minimize or avoid any harmful activity. Casinos are subject to assaults, including bonus abuse, credential stuffing, and chargeback fraud, among many others. In affiliate marketing, frauds become more complex and harder to identify, and the best thing in this situation is to be prepared for a possible attack.
Here’s a list of some most common frauds that are being detected by PartnerMatrix’s Anti-Fraud Intelligence tool:
Along with the difficulties come new solutions that help in the daily routine and contribute to the transparency of processes.
The core success strategy of affiliate marketing is to keep track of who, when, and where does what. Real-time statistics allow affiliates and casinos to trace the same information about users. Real-time data can also be handy when quick action is needed, such as identifying and cutting off harmful traffic sources.
It is important to allow your affiliates to use different marketing tools to promote your games. This can refer to allowing your affiliates to generate pre-sized banners and GIFs within your affiliate software dashboard, having quick access to design elements (such as logos, game images), and anything that can help promote your brand. Affiliates usually use different networks to promote your game, including social media and website blogs, so you need to cover all their marketing needs.
Apart from commission fraud attempts, when casinos or affiliates try to take over a partner by using forbidden schemes, offenders might try to simply hack the system and withdraw all the funds. Security of your casino and affiliate operations is a very important yet complex issue, and it is always good to have an incident support team for your affiliate software that can quickly react to any changes.
According to data presented by Mejores Apuestas
This list includes some of the popular affiliates that are open to cooperation with all types of certified gaming platforms.
(!) If you’re a startup casino, it is not necessary to look only for cooperating with world-class affiliates. You can always initiate a partnership with startup affiliates who offer cool blog posts, reviews, or appearances in popular listicles.
Global online gambling growth is expected to increase by 9% over the next five years. Considering that rules and big players have already been established, the expected growth still looks impressive.
Achieving great success in affiliate marketing is possible because it has already proven its effectiveness for a long time now. However, launching a successful affiliate channel can seem complex, and the solution to that complexity is choosing the right software and team to support you with the integration and maintenance.
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!
EveryMatrix’s Stian Enger Pettersen offers unparalleled insight into Nigeria, which is positioned to become Africa’s biggest slots market. As...
In a world where digital landscapes evolve at lightning speed, the iGaming sector stands out with its rapid growth....
Peru, the sixth market in the Slot Trumps series, is opening for business. EveryMatrix’s Stian Enger Pettersen outlines how...
The key for us as a true B2B iGaming software provider is to help gaming operators implement bold ideas and unleash unlimited creativity.