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Affiliate Marketing: Why It Works Best for Online Casinos
While there are different ways to promote an online casino, affiliate marketing has earned its status as the most effective. Of course, SEO, PPC, media ads, exhibitions, and other offline activities should also be part of the bigger strategy – after all, diversity always increases your chances of success. But if we compare investments and outcomes, affiliate marketing often wins the ROI competition. Let’s take a closer look at who affiliates are, what benefits they bring to an online gaming business, and how to find the right affiliate marketing software.
Who Are Affiliates?
Affiliates are people who use their websites to bring traffic to your online casino. In online gaming, affiliates are often players themselves. They usually have vast experience as online casino users and run blogs or live streams to share their gaming experiences. Some casino affiliates even have experience running online casinos and know the business side as well. In any case, affiliates (or professional affiliate companies) are not strangers to the world of iGaming and know its ins and outs.
By providing truthful information on various online casinos and sharing gambling tips and tricks, affiliates gain trust among players and attract a significant audience. With skilful SEO, link building, and forum activity, they achieve high rankings. Once that's done, affiliate websites are ready for monetisation: they start referring traffic to online casino operators.
What Do They Do to Promote an Online Casino?
Affiliates deliver referral traffic to online casinos by placing links and banners on their websites. Sometimes they use banners that call for direct action, such as registering or making a deposit. The important thing is that casino affiliates bring highly relevant traffic that converts into depositing players.
Affiliate websites have one thing in common: they all provide useful information, such as iGaming guides and online casino rankings. This attracts users who search for the best casino to play at and who often register after following the link. However, approaches differ. Some sites act as portals, such as AskGamblers or LCB, covering all aspects of online gambling for a wide audience. Other websites focus on niches, such as UK-licensed casinos or Bitcoin-focused casinos – like BitcoinBuster or Bitcoin Chaser.
What Do They Get in Return?
Affiliates get paid for the traffic they bring to casino websites. There are several different models of rewarding the affiliates.
1) Revenue-share or RevShare
With this model, affiliates get a percentage of the casino's net revenue from referred players. Many affiliates prefer this model because it offers long-term income. For operators, it's also a good option because affiliates are motivated to bring quality players who would generate revenue consistently, and operators often use an individual approach. Some trusted partners may receive as much as 50% commission, with no negative carryover.
2) Cost per action or CPA
This is a model where a casino offers a fixed rate for every player. It can be a reward just for registration, but most often, the player needs to deposit and/or wager a certain amount for the affiliate to be paid. Casino operators can be flexible, increasing the rate as the number of referred players grows.
3) Mixed models
As mentioned, casino operators often create customised approaches to high-profile affiliates. For example, they can offer a combination of revenue share and CPA, or even negotiate upfront payments along with long-term participation in the casino revenue. The more flexible you are in building these relationships, the stronger your network and the more you benefit from win-win partnerships.
Why is Affiliate Marketing Effective?
There are several clear advantages affiliate marketing has over other methods of online casino promotion:
Payment based on performance. It's always easier to pay for results than to make an upfront investment without any guarantees. Affiliate marketing is performance-based and delivers high ROI. Even if CPA or commission rates are high, you know that your revenue is higher. You get 100% relevant traffic that converts into real sales.
Measurable progress. When you invest heavily in other marketing activities, it’s hard to know exactly how many players they bring. With affiliate marketing, you can calculate and compare the amount invested and the amount earned up to a single cent, giving you a clear picture of your returns.
Simple tracking. Modern affiliate systems (often built into casino software) make it easy to evaluate performance. You can even see how your casino is doing on different affiliate websites. This info helps analyse which ads and banners work best for you and adjust your affiliate program accordingly.
Reputation and online presence. Since successful affiliates usually have a strong reputation in iGaming, being advertised on their websites adds to your casino's reputation and credibility. It helps to strengthen the brand and make a lasting impression on the industry.
How to Meet the Right Affiliates?
There are several ways of making long-lasting partnerships with affiliates.
Advertise your program. Place information in iGaming media. Many list the most lucrative affiliate offerings, so try to advertise your affiliate program and make it visible and appealing to affiliates.
Attend specialised exhibitions and affiliate conferences. Affiliate conferences take place worldwide throughout the year, especially in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Malta. Affiliates go to share their experience, learn about the iGaming legislation updates, acquire knowledge on new techniques in their business, and make new deals with casino operators. This is your chance to connect.
Word of mouth. The more people you know in the industry, the easier it becomes to grow your affiliate network.
How to Find the Right Affiliate Marketing Platform?
Having a solid technological solution is essential. The affiliate software should be convenient and clear to both operators and affiliates. There are stand-alone software solutions in the market that can be integrated into the online casino software you are using. It's also possible to develop your own custom solution.
Perhaps the most effective option is to choose an affiliate marketing platform that meets industry standards and fits your needs. Casino software providers often build flexible, user-friendly affiliate systems tailored to their clients’ expertise and preferences. They are motivated to provide an effective tool within their platforms that maximises results for their affiliate marketing strategies.
All in all, think about marketing when choosing a gaming platform, and make sure your software provider is on your side. Online gambling is a unique industry that heavily depends on a variety of external factors, such as government regulation, banking, and financial issues – that’s why marketing here is less straightforward than in other fields. With many traditional channels restricted by legislation, affiliate marketing has proven to be one of the most reliable and transparent ways to grow an iGaming brand and boost profits.