The online gambling industry has exploded in recent years, growing into a $66.7 billion market globally as of 2020. Much of this growth can be attributed to the rise of affiliate marketing programs, which have become instrumental customer acquisition channels for operators.
Affiliate programs allow online gambling sites to expand their reach exponentially while affiliates receive attractive commissions for referred players who go on to deposit and play at 21bit Casino. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship that drives growth on both sides.
How Affiliate Marketing Helps Online Gambling Operators
For gambling operators, affiliate programs deliver a steady stream of new players who are prequalified as interested in online gambling. Affiliates market to players who want to play, saving the operators acquisition costs.
By paying only for deposited players, gambling sites shift much of the player recruitment costs to affiliates, who are motivated to drive conversions. This pay-for-performance model scales easily, as operators don’t need to spend more on in-house marketing to grow.
Some key benefits affiliate marketing provides gambling operators:
- Cost-Effective Customer Acquisition: Only pay affiliates for referred players who actually deposit, removing wasted ad spend
- Expanded Reach: Leverage an army of affiliates who promote sites to their audiences
- Targeted Players: Affiliates prequalify potential players who already enjoy gambling
- Risk Transfer: Affiliates take on player recruitment costs and risks
This allows gambling sites to focus entirely on providing a stellar player experience rather than spending heavily on player acquisition.
Why Affiliate Programs Appeal to Publishers
For publishers and affiliates, promoting online gambling sites generates impressive returns thanks to generous commission structures. Top affiliates can earn 5-45% commissions per player payment, for the lifetime of that player.
With such strong earning potential on offer, thousands of affiliates are attracted to promoting gambling sites above other industries.
Gambling affiliates enjoy benefits such as:
- High Lifetime Value (LTV) players: Gamblers exhibit higher lifetime values than most industries
- Ongoing commission payments: Get paid every time referred players deposit to play
- Commission revenue grows over time: Build up an increasing passive income stream from players
- No cost to participate: Anyone can join affiliate programs for free
The combination of high player LTVs and recurring commissions gives gambling one of the most attractive affiliate program models around.
Importance of Trust in Gambling Affiliate Programs
With real money on the line, trust and transparency between gambling operators and affiliates are crucial. Disputes can arise over player tracking, attribution, and payment.
To build strong relationships with affiliates, operators need to demonstrate integrity and reliability consistently:
- Accurate stat tracking & reporting: Properly attribute each player to the referring affiliate
- Timely commission payments: Pay affiliates every month as expected
- Ongoing communication: Address any issues and optimize promos together
Similarly, affiliates prefer working with reputable programs known for fair treatment of partners. Players also gravitate towards trustworthy sites, making trust important all around.
Establishing that trust and transparency from the start helps affiliate programs thrive over the long term.
Outlook for Gambling Affiliate Growth
All signs point to gambling affiliate marketing continuing its upwards trajectory over the coming years.
As regulation opens new markets like the U.S., LATAM, and Asia, more players will come online seeking gambling sites. Affiliate programs will prove essential for operators breaking into these immature markets.
And with more countries regulating online gambling, the industry sheds its taboo reputation for an environment more welcoming of partnerships with publishers and content sites.
Expect more leading global affiliates to add gambling to their portfolio of verticals as the benefits become clearer.
We can expect greater innovation from operators as well in making their affiliate programs more attractive and easier to integrate. The future remains bright for this high-growth channel.
Conclusion
Affiliate marketing has become the customer acquisition engine of the online gambling industry. By rewarding affiliates for performance, operators gain a scalable, targeted player acquisition model.
This ecosystem provides value to both partners while transferring risk away from operators. As regulation expands globally, affiliate marketing will cement itself as the dominant player recruitment channel for online gambling sites.
Trust and transparency remain integral between operators and affiliates to ensure the longevity of these fruitful partnerships. With attention to relationships, gambling affiliate programs offer reliable growth potential to all involved for years to come.
