FEATURE
“In sports-betting, some larger affiliates have been designing
widgets that go beyond helping players compare offers and odds,
such as bet slips that allow them to place bets directly through
affiliate sites, tipster tools, accumulators and multibet platforms”
opportunities enjoyed by sports-betting This is in keeping with a general affiliates when it comes to developing trend towards affiliates needing to be bets quickly and directly from affiliates
products. But Galanis thinks there seen to be providing more to operators sites, with Lykkesteen, Weihs and
is room for better game and product than just first-time depositors. With Moffat all saying a significant number
visibility. Sims agrees, highlighting European jurisdictions now curtailing of players are doing so on their sports-
SlotCatalog.com as a good example of the use of free bets and bonuses betting sites.
a casino affiliate site providing game through tax or legislation, operators analytics. “It is doing a really good are focused on affiliates that help time taken from deciding to place a bet
job of collecting information from the them develop relationships that extend on a sporting event to having that bet
various casinos and presenting it in beyond simply one-off users. And, of accepted,” says Moffat. “When most
charts. It is a typical example of the course, the compliance issue is also bets are placed in a small window
new style of affiliate site.” now leading operators to scrutinise prior to the start of a sporting event,
their affiliates more closely. this is important. The user doesn’t
XLMedia has historically been more
focused on casino than sports betting
“Operators now would rather have
products that allow punters to place
“We have helped the user reduce the
always have time to do the research,
and, says Weihs, its team takes a fewer affiliates, provided they try to move from site to site, find the markets
social approach to engaging users. “In build products and make a difference and so on.”
casino it is more about getting the info in the value chain (rather than having through, getting the promotions and those that just send new depositors) own products looks set to continue,
quality reviews. We use other forms of because they want to motivate and probably even increase if the
engagement that are more social, such users to place bets all the time,” M&A we’ve seen in recent years
as awards in various countries for best says Lykkesteen. carries on at the same pace. Right now,
The trend for affiliates to create their
The increasing trend towards both it seems that for igaming affiliates the
to engage users to give feedback or mobile play and users wanting to place answer to that central question about
answer polls, or to play free games that bets while on the go is also driving whether they aim to market or create
might encourage them to check out the current need for products. This is products, seems to be that they want
the real version.” one of the key trends underpinning to do both.
casinos or best blogs. We look for ways
iGB Affiliate Issue 71 OCT/NOV 2018
41