Gambling Affiliate Marketing: A Practical Approach to Getting Started with the Vertical

In today's article, we will analyze the most profitable traffic sources for gambling affiliate programs and present several successful case studies from affiliate marketers who work in the gambling vertical. We will also discuss training programs and teaching materials that you use to learn how to effectively promote gambling affiliate marketing offers to make a profit.

Features of the Gambling Vertical

Every affiliate marketing vertical has its own unique characteristics, and gambling is certainly no different. When stepping into this vertical, it's important to understand and consider the following aspects it comes with:

• High competition and expensive traffic: The high commissions from gambling affiliate programs attract many affiliates. As a result, ad auctions become highly competitive, with top teams willing to pay premium rates to outbid competitors and dominate the market.
• Prohibited activity in many geos: Gambling is seen as a controversial category in many regions, as it involves activities related to casinos and betting that are often banned. Affiliates often have to use sneaky methods like cloaking to hide the true nature of the ads and come up with clever ways to present them. There are only a few advertising networks, such as MyBid, that actually allow open promotion of online casinos, and using these networks can have a significant positive effect on how much you earn in this space.
• Adult target audience: All legal online casinos enforce a minimum age requirement of 18 years for players.  This rule is beneficial for affiliates because it allows them to focus on an audience that has the financial ability to participate.
• Creativity: Due to the saturation of gambling affiliate programs caused by many affiliates who promote them across various sources, users tend to develop "banner blindness" towards many creatives that look so obvious. The old-fashioned promotional strategies that used to be effective in the past are no longer bringing positive results. Nowadays, it's important to rely on creativity and innovative methods to get profitable advertising campaigns.

How and where to choose a gambling offer

When choosing an offer, you have to look for affiliate networks with the best online casino affiliate programs, pick one and research on the program’s popularity in different geos.

It's smart to analyze the offer in spy tools to see how many affiliates are promoting it, and check out Google Trends to see the popularity of the casino game, both globally and in the individual geos you're targeting.

  
Often, affiliates tend to promote new, less-known offers from the best casino affiliate networks and make good money from them due to low competition. But either way, you need to consider the following criteria:

• Reputation of the advertisers: New advertisers entering the market may introduce new casino affiliate marketing programs with attractive incentives in order to attract affiliates. Be cautious with these as there might be dishonest actors trying to scam others. Start by working with reputable CPA networks and advertising platforms. Always check out reviews and learn from the experiences of fellow affiliates.
• Deposit methods: Even established affiliate programs may have offers with clumsy payment options. For example, some offers might only accept local bank cards, ignoring the fact that foreign banks operate in the country and many residents use their services. If users can't top up their gambling accounts with such cards, they might give up, leading to a failed conversion. So, it's important for advertisers to use universal payment methods to avoid such issues.

• Withdrawal of money: Many affiliate networks still have rules for withdrawing money that are quite complicated. It's better to stay away from such affiliate programs and look for affiliate networks where payments are made as soon as you request them or with minimal and clearly specified hold times. Also, pay attention to the methods of withdrawing money - it's important that the affiliate network has convenient cash out options for affiliates.
• Personal manager: It makes sense to work with a CPA network that provides a personal manager even for every new affiliate. The reliability of the personal manager is the key in helping affiliates to see success.
• Promotional tools and materials: Many affiliate programs and networks give you creatives, landing pages, mobile apps, and other materials that can simplify the affiliate's work and reduce the time it takes to launch ad campaigns.

After choosing an offer, you have to test it. But before sending users to the affiliate program, go through the entire funnel yourself to identify issues that can prevent the user from making a deposit. Make sure everything works smoothly and that popular ways to add money to the account are functioning.

Traffic sources

The most popular ways to attract users to gambling affiliate program today are:

• Sending spam messages on social networks and instant messaging apps
• Using Facebook and Google Ads to advertise mobile applications
• Working with advertising networks
• Partnering with Youtubers and influencers
• Using SEO

Let's take a closer look at each of these methods.

Sending spam messages on social networks and instant messaging apps

Sending spam messages on social networks and instant messaging apps is a method some people use to generate traffic. This practice is most commonly observed on platforms like Telegram and VKontakte. Spammers use two main approaches: Manual spamming, which requires a lot of effort and brings limited results, and automated spamming using special software.

Here are the methods they use:

• Sending spam in private messages: Spammers gather a list of their target audience using a parser software and then send personalized messages to each individual, urging them to follow a link for bonuses or casino-related incentives. Although this method is relatively cost-free, the spammers need to invest money in software and accounts, which are likely to be banned after one or more spamming attempts. Nevertheless, by targeting the right audiences, affiliates can get many conversions using this method.
• Spamming in comments: This method is similar to spamming private messages, but the spammers configure the software to post comments in specific Telegram channels. They may use time delays to avoid immediate detection and deletion of their spam comments by moderators. This way, they can attempt to reach a wider audience through the comments section.

Using Facebook and Google Ads to send traffic to mobile applications

It's super hard to promote a gambling website directly through Facebook or Google Ads these days. These platforms don't trust the vertical much and could easily ban you for promoting the affiliate program. Instead, they have more confidence in mobile apps. Yes, even the casino mobile apps are allowed.

Then once you get these apps, you can frequently ask the users to sign up on the gambling websites through push notifications and in-app ads.

Note: If you want to promote online casinos directly on Facebook or Google Ads without getting caught by the moderators, you’ll need to use the cloaking technique, which is now the most popularly used by affiliates.

You can rent mobile apps through affiliate programs or third-party developers. Alternatively, you have the option to buy or create apps within your own team. Usually, people prefer to promote Android apps because they are easier to develop, and cost 2-3 times less than iOS applications. However, the iOS App Store has less competition, and its users generally have more money to spend. Even though getting traffic from iOS is more expensive, the conversion rate and the money earned from it is way higher.

Working with ad networks

This method of affiliate marketing doesn't require any special skills like setting up a cloaker. That means it's suitable even for beginners to learn. You can use this advertising networks to run ads on almost any affiliate program, and you can use ad creatives that would be be rejected by Google or Facebook moderation.

Big international ad networks like MyBid give affiliates a personal manager who can help with various tasks during the process of setting up, launching, optiimizing and scaling the campaigns. They can answer all of your questions, help set up your advertising campaign, suggest the best bidding rates to use, and advise on the best payment methods.

One advantage of ad networks is that they have many partner sites where they display your ads. For example, MyBid has partner sites that receive more than 5 billion daily impressions worldwide. You can also target your ads very specifically to reach the right audience. They also help in creating effective ads and finding profitable combinations.

The main difference between ad networks like MyBid and platforms like Facebook and Google is how they regulate affiliate marketing ads. Facebook and Google have strict rules for affiliates, but ad networks want their affiliates to succeed because it benefits them too. They want their affiliates to be successful in the long run, as it directly impacts their earnings.

Partnering with Youtubers and influencers

In 2023, gambling advertising has become extremely popular in the world of affiliate marketing. YouTubers and influencers are at the forefront of this trend, as they showcase slots and other online casino games during their live streams. They passionately express their joy or disappointment when they win or lose, connecting with their audience.

If a Youtuber or social media influencer is popular and has a large number of viewers during their live stream, the affiliates working with him can earn a significant amount of money from first-time deposits made by the viewers.

Apart from YouTube livestreams, influencers also promote the streaming audience on Telegram channels. They create anticipation by sharing announcements and exciting moments of past wins.

The cost of hiring a Youtuber or influencer for a live streaming service that promotes your link varies based on their popularity, ranging from $200 to several thousand dollars per stream. It's sometimes more affordable to develop a Youtube channel from scratch, but that approach demands more time and effort.

Using SEO 

Getting traffic through SEO is harder than other methods because, on top of being an affiliate marketer, you also need to be skilled in SEO and know things like hacking behavioral factors, building PBN networks, and link building strategies.

Unlike regular websites, companies that engage in SEO for gambling sites have much larger budgets. They often spend thousands of dollars to buy just one link. As a result, trying to compete with them in search results when you have a limited budget and little SEO knowledge is nearly impossible. However, despite the challenges, SEO is one of the most profitable way to attract visitors in the gambling industry.

Useful tips for gambling

To make your advertising campaigns more effective and attract more potential sign-ups, it's a good idea to use techniques that can boost the number of people who take action. Here are some methods you can try:

• Using prelanders: In lots of geos, users easily get engaged in pre-landers that contain things like polls, roulettes, or quizzes. You have to test them and see which pre-lander format works best for the specific geo you are targeting to get more conversions.

• Adding bonuses: Players really like getting bonuses, and they happily sign up at a casino that says it will double or increase their deposit by some percentage. But it's important that you do not to deceive them and clearly state the actual bonus from the advertiser. Otherwise, using bonuses might have the opposite effect. For instance, if an ad promises a 125% bonus but only delivers 50%, the players won't be happy, and the ad won't work well for them.

• Testing targeting settings: The key to a successful campaign is having a solid audience. To achieve this, it's important to experiment with different targeting options. Google Ads has some limitations when it comes to targeting, but Facebook gives affiliates more flexibility. With Facebook, you can pick the age, gender, and interests of your audience. Many of these targeting features are also available in major advertising networks like MyBid.
• Using push notifications: The majority of push traffic comes from mobile devices, and the most popular way to generate it is through mobile applications. These apps make it simple to set up push notifications to attract users' attention. According to the experience of many affiliate marketing teams, using push notifications can boost the conversion rate by approximately 30%.

Case studies

Here are some examples of successful gambling case studies from various sources, along with creatives that worked effectively.

Case Study: Working with gambling through Telegram and earning 1 million rubles

One affiliate shared his experience of buying Telegram channels and directing traffic to online casinos. He made around 200-300% return on investment (ROI) for a while. However, over time, the channels' audience became less interested, and the ROI decreased significantly.

Text from the screenshot:
"Fresh algorithm as of 06/04/2020. 
Claim your 67,000 rubles💵💵💵. 
🙂 Strategy for the game 'Book of Sun'. 
💰 Winnings under this method can reach up to 67,000 rubles😱. 
🔰 Beginners, register here (link): 
❗ Make sure that you strictly fall our algorithm below: 
1️⃣ Top up your balance by 1360 rubles. 
2️⃣ Then, proceed to Slots-Booongo-Book of Sun. 
Follow this scheme⬇️⬇️: 
Bet 15 ➡️ 11 times, 
Bet 50 ➡️ 5 times, 
Bet 30 ➡️ 10 times, 
Bet 125 ➡️ 3 times."

 The affiliate made a decision to stop the plan of buying channels and getting lots of traffic from them. Instead, he looked for another way to do things. So, he came up with a great picture to show his offer and started promoting it using articles on Telegram. He picked the PokerDom affiliate program, which had fun mini-games that were different from regular slots. Because of this, people were interested right away.

Text from the screenshot:
“In a single round, a player can simultaneously open two site panels and place two bets. 
This technology is highly effective and is integrated with all cryptographic algorithms, ensuring both anonymity and randomization. 
How to play the game? 
1.    You can play the game on the PokerDom platform. 
2.    Upon clicking the "Takeoff" button, the takeoff trajectory of the aircraft becomes visible:”

Instead of buying Telegram channels, the affiliate decided placed his ads on channels owned by others. The price for placing one advertisement within the content ranged from $22 to $55.

Screenshot text:
“We earn from 1,000 rubles a day
Read article»

The affiliate made a bit over $11,000 after working for 2 months. He spent around $2,200 to bring in website visitors. So, his total profit ended up being about $8,800.

Case Study: Making $3 000 per week by promoting gambling affiliate program on TikTok

In this case study, the affiliate began experimenting with gambling promotions on a TikTok account. He tested different target audiences: 65% targeted at Western audiences, while 35% targeted the CIS. The payout for a lead from an affiliate program according to the CPA model was $30. Within just one week, he spent $300, and earned $3,000 in return.

He sent users to various websites of casino brands, with Vulkan Vegas and Slotto Jam generating the most leads. The approach he used in his ads focused on the emotions associated with winning big while playing slots.

To maintain privacy, the affiliate purchased 20 accounts with privacy features. However, he used only 2 of these accounts – specifically, the ones that had been active for more than 2 months. These accounts were not subject to manual review and frequent moderations.

On the launched accounts, the affiliate posted 10-20 videos a day. The advertiser said that the traffic he was sending was of good quality. A few players who signed up even deposited money which was twice the payout amount.

Case Study: Earning $93,000 from promoting a gambling affiliate program using Facebook Ads and iOS apps

An affiliate team also shared a case study whereby they promoted a gambling affiliate program in Australia using Facebook Ads and rented iOS applications. The offer was of the Rocket Play casino brand. It operated on a CPA payment model, providing a $220 payout for each targeted action.

In the advertising campaign, different kinds of accounts were used including agency accounts, regular farmed accounts, and also highly trusted accounts. The campaigns were optimized for conversions and had a targeted audience of males and females, aged 28 to 65, who didn't have specific hobbies or preferences.

Each media buyer had a different daily budget, although the team's typical budget was around $500 on average. It usually costs the team about $140 for each deposit made by customers.

The ad creatives of the campaign used a strategy that focused on invoking strong emotions related to the game and popular activities. They also made good use of push notifications to actively increase the number of visitors to the platform.

The team used a spinning wheel on their landing page to warm up the traffic. From there, users were redirected to the App Store.

For whitehat page, they used a service that generates landing pages based on app content from the Play Store. Below is the whitehat page they used.

The screenshot below shows the data of one of their advertising accounts. This account made €4,130 and got 235 people to install the app, 125 people signed up, and 30 people put money in, all costing $145. The install to registration ratio was 53%, and from those who signed up, 24% went on to make a deposit.

 The team worked with the affiliate program for three months - from November 2022 to January 2023. They spent $59,000, and earned $92,800. This brought an ROI of 57%, and the profit was $33,800.

About affiliate marketing training programs for the gambling vertical

You can't fully learn and become an expert in gambling affiliate marketing just by taking online courses. First of all, many of these courses are created by people who gather information that's already out there on the internet. Plus, even the good courses can only give you a starting point, teaching you the basics like how to post things, what tools to use, how you get paid, and how to find links. But, to really get good at this, you need to practice - like trying to put up ads when you don't have a lot of money and figuring out and fixing problems.

At the end of this article, we are providing a quick overview of a few free courses that are well-respected in the online gambling affiliate marketing community.

Gambling.pro Affiliate Network Training Program

This training from the gambling affiliate network isn't just for beginners. It's split into three levels: junior, middle, and TOP. This way, even affiliates with experience can benefit and enhance their understanding. The course includes assignments to complete, and finishing these allows you to progress to the next level.

If you're just starting out, the beginner part of the course is free. It gives you all the basic knowledge without any unnecessary stuff. Additionally, the CPA network's YouTube channel has a playlist with 32 training videos featuring guides and real-life examples.

Course from AlfaLeads

The AlfaLeads CPA network made some video lessons about affiliate marketing in the gambling vertical. This course is all about explaining the special rules in different countries for online casinos and how people in different places think and behave. They also teach ways to acquire traffic from specific countries.

You can totally learn about countries like the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, and Turkey without any cost. In the video descriptions, they even put links so you can see actual ads that really work with the people in these countries.

Training course from SKANKA88
 

SKANKA88 stands as one of the longstanding members of the affiliate marketing community, with years of experience. His expertise lies in generating online traffic for various websites, including gambling and betting platforms. He even has his own educational courses aimed at teaching the methods of driving traffic specifically in these areas.

The course teaches how to use tools like Google Ads and Facebook for affiliate marketing, including managing accounts, creating content, and starting ad campaigns. The instructor, SKANKA88, also spends a lot of time explaining other affiliate marketing techniques like working with specific software, setting up tracking systems, and managing campaigns. The course also covers running ads with Google UAC using mobile apps for gambling purposes.

Conclusion

The gambling vertical allows affiliates to consistently make money by promoting online gambling affiliate programs using platforms like Facebook and Google. You can gain the required know-how about this field by enrolling in specialized gambling courses. It's a good idea to start by experimenting with a specific target audience through advertising networks like MyBid, whereby the affiliate managers can assist you in creating, optimizing, and scaling your advertising campaigns.