The future of gambling affiliate marketing comes down to two areas, according to StatsDrone’s CEO. 

Speaking in the latest episode of the iGaming Daily Podcast, John Wright discussed the current landscape of gambling affiliate websites and stressed it is simply no longer about writing reviews and that survival requires embracing technology and automation. 

Sitting down with iGaming Business Editor Joe Streeter, Wright answered how affiliates can be successful in today’s market – and what is the key to surviving and thriving. 

He said: “You’re essentially asking affiliates to do two things really well: we need you to be an amazing tech company and we need you to be an amazing marketer and drive traffic. It’s very challenging to be both.

“We’re moving in towards this territory of needing more branding, more conversion rate optimisation, and just more quality.”

Resources can help bridge the gap, with Wright saying that data should be utilised more in the iGaming market.  

“I think there’s not enough emphasis put on affiliate tools and data. That’s one of the criticisms we get in iGaming that we’re not as data driven as we should be.

“If more affiliates have access to these tools, they’ll get better insights. They’ll be able to make smarter decisions and I think it comes down to either automation or done for your services.

“We need more operators using smart CRM tools that benefit everyone. You need a mix of branding; branding is taking care of every single click.”

The battle against influencers and regulation

One area Wright identified as a problem is the rise of influencer marketing in the sector. Namely, the unchecked activity that could result in strict regulations.

Those promoting either illegal, black or gray market or unregulated sites have been an issue across multiple countries, such as in Latin America and part of Europe where it has become criminalised in certain areas.. 

Cryptocurrency has often gone hand-in-hand with such websites and the issues include risking reputational damage and inviting heavy-handed regulation.

Wright believes that the industry must find the answers before regulators come down hard on the market. 

“We need to collectively work together to clean up our own image and this is something that doesn’t look good. 

“Maybe there is profit behind it. But we need to kind of say, what leverage can we do to try to stop this? Because it paints us all with the same brush.

“If we take it too far, we’re not going to do ourselves any favours. 

“We’re going to create our own roadblocks and this space is going to eventually move over to the regulated side.”