Affiliate marketing, whether in the gaming and gambling industry or otherwise, has proven a lucrative vertical and, at the very least, a great way to make some passive income.
The online gambling industry, specifically, however, has proven ultra-competitive, thus making it increasingly more difficult to break through the noise and begin earning as an affiliate. In fact, total revenue in 2021 for the global sports betting industry alone reached nearly $80 billion!
The good news is that there are several upcoming opportunities to capitalize as an affiliate, particularly in the sports betting and online casino arena; notably, the World Cup taking place in Qatar toward the end of November. Expected to attract billions of dedicated followers from around the globe, it’s a jackpot for affiliates responsible for creating the most enticing betting offers for their networks.
With that said, in what follows, we’ll be exploring the most common types of iGaming offers, the most lucrative payout methods, and the top strategies for increasing profits. Further, we’ll share several tips for launching ads for iGaming networks and detail what the potential upside is for those who so choose to take on the role of the promoter.
Types of iGaming Offers
Popular for evident reasons, online gambling has since made waves in the wake of the age of the internet. After all, gambling has been a favorite hobby for millions prior to the onset of the internet!
As such, it’s worth some consideration to enter into the online gaming affiliate arena; that is if you’re up for the challenge. With that said, before diving headfirst, it’s important to gain some familiarity with the most popular offers available.
Below are the four most common types of iGaming affiliate offers:
Online Casino
Providing users with the incentive of winning major prizes, whether through luck or otherwise. With endless games to choose from, online casinos are among the most widely used offers, and for good reason.
Poker
Yet another chance to gamble, yet this time more intelligently, poker provides participants with the opportunity to win big should they play their cards right. More suitable for the skilled, it remains a lucrative option and a popular offer at that.
Lotteries
For those unwilling to spend hours playing games, the lottery provides a quick and largely mindless opportunity to invest and hope for the best. Whether scratch cards, instant-win quick games, or draws, lotteries are one of the more popular outlets of online gambling.
Sports Betting
Arguably the most popular in recent months and years largely due to mass legalization across many states and countries, sports betting is a popular way to incorporate passion and socialization with the thrilling opportunity to win some cash.
With over 60% of the world having access to the internet, it’s no wonder that iGaming has become an interactive machine for leisurely activity and passive income. With endless sports to choose from, it’ll remain a popular option for the foreseeable future; hence, the popularization of sports betting affiliate programs.
As for which sport is most prominent, football takes the cake, generating the majority of sports betting revenue (nearly a quarter of the market share), comparatively speaking. As for the second largest market, horse racing is forecasted to reach about a tenth (10%) of the market share by year’s end.
How Much Can You Make Promoting iGaming Affiliate Offers?
For those that are less privy to the iGaming industry, it’s worth noting that this unique but sizeable niche boats a net worth of over $52 billion; it’s no wonder why affiliate marketers implementing affiliate marketing strategies have become so successful.
How successful, you ask?
For affiliate marketers who work independently, one can expect to earn upwards of $10,000 per month, on average. Working as part of a team and one can expect to make exponentially higher earnings on a month-to-month basis; 10x wouldn’t be out of the question…
With that said, earning money as an affiliate marketer, especially in such a niche as iGaming, doesn’t come without its challenges. Like any affiliate marketing strategy, success depends on a myriad of factors inclusive of the affiliate marketer’s experience, offer, and traffic source, just to name a few.
How to Promote iGaming Offers
Promoting offers for sports betting affiliate programs and gambling affiliate programs is no walk-in-the-park. Quite the opposite, in fact. Not only is it complicated in its execution but its knowledge-intensive when it comes to understanding the strict rules behind the likes of Google and Facebook when it comes to advertising gambling sites and applications.
With that said, if you’re still eager to become an iGaming affiliate, it all starts with having your own website. Not, however, that it’s not as simple as building out a website and being done with it. Instead, it requires continuous efforts with regard to SEO, web development, and website maintenance.
Once you’ve reached a point of sufficiency, it’s time to look into paid traffic sources… Luckily, TrafficStars is equipped for just that! Offering multiple advantages at affordable prices, not to mention we permit the allowance of iGaming promotion, it’s the premier destination for all things gaming affiliate promotion!
Simply choose from multiple ad formats, whether video, popunder, push, banner, native, interstitial, or in-page, and get to work. It’s that easy.
🔹 Popunder
It’s the easiest way to launch ad campaigns. All you have to do is insert the link to the promoted page.
🔹 Banner
We allow different banner types in different shapes and sizes. Use ad creatives with a casino game, a bonus or a wheel of fortune.
🔹 Native ads
This ad format is best for online casino review sites and various success stories, i.e. people who have won huge amounts of money.
🔹 Video Pre-Roll
Video is essential for building brand awareness and driving high-quality leads. And you don’t have to be a filmmaker to create commercials. There is a wide variety of online video services with templates. Just Google it!
💡 Show the most engaging content within the first 5 seconds.
🔹 Push ads
Use classic push or in-page push ads. It’s the best way to grab users' attention, but need to craft creatives. However, it's not that hard, especially compared to video ads.
💡 If you are promoting a specific event, use a special pre-lander or match page on the bookie’s website.
Affiliate Payout Models
Depending on the affiliate network one chooses to work with, payouts can vary and range in amounts earned. With that said, there are several types of payout models that an affiliate, and more specifically, a network can deploy as means of compensation.
Below are the four most common types of affiliate payout models involved in iGaming affiliate programs such as gambling affiliate programs or sports betting affiliate programs:
🔹 Revenue Share
Otherwise referred to as RevShare, revenue sharing is largely viewed as the most lucrative type of iGaming affiliate payout method, not merely because of its standard in building long-term relationships. Not only does it provide affiliates with an opportunity for high profits when partnered with a high-rolling network but it also includes the opportunity for sustainable growth, unlike other less-reliable payout methods.
Simply put, if you’re an affiliate involved in a revenue-sharing payout model, you can expect to earn a percentage of the total revenue earned by the advertiser. This percentage may be upwards of 50% of total revenue earned!
To illustrate the RevShare Model more clearly, consider that the referral you’ve just commissioned lost $1000 during a given sports bet. If you’re RevShare percentage is 50%, congratulations, you’ve just earned $500! Contrastingly, however, there is a downside. Should your referral win, you as an affiliate may, as a result, loss rather than profit…
🔹 Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA Model)
Otherwise referred to as the ‘cost-per-action’ model, the CPA model is undeniably the most popular of payout model on the side of the network. This is because they only pay when an action is taken or acquisition is acquired.
Inclusive of flexible payout commission plans during downloads and registrations, CPA models have multiple ways in which an affiliate can get paid. The one downside for affiliates? Should turnover occur, the affiliate is unlikely to get paid for the acquisition.
🔹 Hybrid Model
As the name suggests, the hybrid model uniquely combines both the revenue share model and CPA model to bring to its affiliates a flexible means of compensation. In the hybrid model, affiliates can get paid via deposits as well as augmented percentages of revenue earned.
The best part about the hybrid model? Should you as an affiliate outperform the rest and bring to the network an abundance of high-quality leads, you’ll likely be rewarded with the percentage of revenue shared increased!
🔹 Cost-Per-Lead (CPL Model)
In short, the CPL Model compensates iGaming affiliate marketers when and only when a lead has been generated, whether via a sign-up, subscription, or otherwise. While the payout is often less than the likes of payouts received from RevShare models, for example, it’s often a much safer and more reliable method of payment; something many affiliates prioritize.
Unlike the revenue share model which rewards affiliates based on percentages, the CPL model rewards them with a fixed rate, variable depending on the KPI chosen by the network/website in charge.
7 Ad Tips to Run Affiliate iGaming Programs
Being an affiliate for any niche or industry isn’t an easy task. In fact, there are several components and considerations throughout an affiliate’s promotional journey. One major component of being an affiliate is setting up and launching ad campaigns.
In order to become the best affiliate, it’s important to learn digital ad best practices, or at the very least, garner a better understanding of what you need to know in order to increase the likelihood of success.
With that said, below are seven 7 tips for those eager to run ads for successful affiliate iGaming programs:
№1 - A/B Tests
Testing provides you with the necessary information regarding a given ad campaign to be an intelligent decision-maker. It’s not enough, however, to test again one alternative. Instead, consider creating five separate campaigns and several unique landing pages to determine the winning one.
№2 - Quick Registration
When seeking conversions such as sign-ups and registrations, it’s important to keep the process as simple and minimalistic as possible. To comprehensive and timely and the lead generated will likely bounce. To ensure successful conversions, be sure to make the registration process quick, streamlined, and painless.
№3 - Top Events
Timing plays a major role in the ability to increase conversion rates no matter the task. In the context of iGaming, sports betting, and otherwise, launching campaigns around upcoming events will inevitably result in the successful promotion of bookmaker offers. One prime example of this would be the next major sporting event; the World Cup Qatar 2022!
Not only is the World Cup Qatar 2022 a goldmine for networks but for affiliates looking to increase their month’s earnings! Why? Put simply, millions will be participating in sports betting on their favorite teams. The best part? It happens every 4 years!
With consumer interaction at an all-time high during the period in which the World Cup takes place, it makes for an idyllic time to launch campaigns, increase mobile engagement, and ultimately capitalize on offers and payouts.
📅 Notably, the big event takes place on November 20 through December 18th, so prepare accordingly.
№4 - Promo Codes & Freebies
Everyone enjoyed promotional codes, discounts, free spins, free products, and otherwise. When launching an ad campaign as an affiliate, it’s worth considering incorporating an enticing giveaway component, not only to attract leads but to convert them successfully.
№5 - Mobile Apps
The use of mobile is rapidly on the rise in popularity, set to become the primary device of consumption in the months and years to come. In fact, to date, mobile comprises nearly 75% of all online purchases, whether in sports betting, gaming, or any other industry for that matter. Failing to promote on mobile apps is the failure to capture the attention of millions.
№6 - Separate Ad Campaigns
As an affiliate, you likely understand the several differentiators available to deploy during ad campaign set-up, from GEO to device and audience type, and the list goes on… In order to get the most out of your ad campaigns, it’s important to launch several, separating them by these aforementioned differentiators.
Not only will this make the cost analysis and performance measurements easier but it will also allow for a more accurate depiction of advertising costs during the initial stages of ad setup.
№7 - Optimizer
Finally, during any ad campaign launch, it’s important to have the ability to adjust your bids in real-time, especially when ads are underperforming. Luckily, Optimizer, our optimization tool here at TrafficStars, allows you to do just that!
4 Strategies to Earn Extra Money
While being an affiliate in the gambling or gaming industry is lucrative in and of itself, there are several alternative strategies that one can implement to further their success and ultimately increase profits, both for themselves and their associative networks.
With that said, below are the 4 strategies to earn extra money promoting affiliate iGaming offers:
Push Subscribers
Collecting push subscribers can garner an additional $200-300 (or more) of monthly cash flow if implemented correctly. Simply collect and build a subscriber list for other networks, allowing earning potential to flourish.
Because push notifications can come across as somewhat intrusive, be sure to ask for permission before sending them to your audience. Failure to do so, in fact, may result in a breach of the latest privacy laws.
Pixel
In order to gain a better understanding of your audience, it’s important to consider adding tracking pixels to your landing pages. Not only will this provide you with additional insight and data into consumer behavior, but it will inevitably place you a step ahead of the competition, ultimately increasing your profits significantly.
Retargeting
A standard practice in any digital marketing strategy, retargeting is popular for its effectiveness in generating high-quality leads. If you know anything about lead generation, you know that the higher the quality, the higher the payout!
While there are several ways in which you can retarget your target audience, starting with landing page interactions and/or conversions is a great place to begin. By simply increasing your budget by $10-20 per day and running it side-by-side with your primary ad campaign, an incremental increase in profits can be realized.
Remarketing
It’s important to implement all of the aforementioned strategies if you’re looking to gradually increase your earnings. However, one strategy that’s superior to the rest, and one that can garner thousands of dollars of additional revenue is remarketing…
Similar to retargeting, however, more personable, remarketing typically involves a component of email marketing to further garner the interest of individuals who’ve already clicked on your landing pages.
The likelihood of deposits from those from remarketing campaigns versus those from retargeting campaigns is night and day. In other words, the quality of leads captured from remarketing campaigns is far superior…
Conclusion
As a self-serve ad network with over 5 billion daily impressions, we here at TrafficStars help advertisers, publishers, affiliates, and otherwise optimize their digital ads and affiliate efforts so that they can experience greater conversion rates than ever before…
What more could you ask for?! Contact us today to learn more about how you can succeed as an online gaming affiliate. We look forward to helping you!
