iGB Affiliate 68 April/May | Page 43

FEATURE one of the biggest opportunities for the industry. Indeed, if the regions targeted by operators are anything to go by, a shift in focus away from mature markets toward less established ones is already taking place. According to the most recent survey (see Figure 4), 52% of operators are targeting Eastern Europe (up from 43% in 2016), 27% are targeting South America (up from 20%) and 21% are targeting Africa (up from 12%). On a country-specific basis, there has been a significant increase in the number of operators targeting Spain (30%, up from 19%) and China (16%, up from 10%). Interestingly, the affiliate survey does not show the same shift in focus among regions and countries, suggesting there may be greater opportunities for affiliates to cash in on new markets than they have yet fully explored. But while new territories are attracting attention, the UK remains the main market for affiliates and operators. Interestingly, however, on the operator side Sweden is now almost level with the UK (59% versus 57%), while for affiliates the gap is still huge (69% versus 35%). With the Nordic market on track to open for regulated business at the start of next year, this could also provide further opportunities for affiliates keen to shift their reliance away from the UK. One aspect of focus that has barely changed over the past year and looks unlikely to change is the verticals targeted. Casino and sports betting remained in first and second place for affiliate s and operators, with poker, bingo and lottery rounding out the top five for both groups. These findings are part of the iGB Affiliate Survey 2018, an independent research project commissioned by iGaming Business. The full report will be included on the iGaming Business Intelligence Centre. Figure 4: Western Europe is key region targeted by affiliates The iGB Affiliate Survey 2018 is part of the iGB Intelligence Centre subscriber offer. To find out more and to subscribe please contact Sandeep Haer on: t: +44 20 7384 1860 or e: [email protected] INTELLIGENCE CENTRE iGB Affiliate Issue 68 APR/MAY 2018 39