So, you're thinking of starting an online casino affiliate business. It must be as easy as setting up a website, posting content, getting backlinks, and directing traffic, right? Wrong.
People who go into affiliate marketing for the gambling industry, thinking it's going to be a relaxed, passive stream of income, often fail. They find themselves giving up after not making any profit, frustrated by the barriers to entry. If you want to be successful with casino affiliate marketing, it will take some time, dedication, and hard work.
With thick skin, research, and an understanding of the competition, it's possible to break through. In this article, we'll go over what you need to do to get started.
The Agreement
As of 2019, the online casino industry is worth over $53 million, and that number is on the rise. The market involves all gaming types such as sports betting, bingo, lottery, casino table games, video poker, slots, and more.
The market is flooded with players, and the new operators are steadily entering the scene. Unfortunately, some entities are looking to take advantage of unprepared newbies.
One of the first things any successful affiliate marketer will tell you is that you must adequately vet an online casino site before accepting an advertising deal with them. While this may seem obvious, it's easier than you may think to fall into an agreement that turns out to be less-than-optimal.
Before you sign up to be an affiliate of anyone in the industry, you must be firm in establishing the terms of the agreement.
Terms
The first step to take is getting a written contract confirming your commission. The contract should state exactly when and how you're going to get paid.
Though you may be aware already, there are three standard models of commission:
- Revenue-Share: based on the percentage of casino net-revenue generated by referred players
- Cost Per Action (CPA): a fixed rate for each player that signs up who was referred by the affiliate
- Mixed Model: negotiate with casinos for a combination of a revenue-share and CPA payment plan.
Generally, commissions offered by casinos are between 25% to 30% of the amount referred players bet. That said, successful affiliates have been known to make anywhere from 50% to 60%.
You want to establish terms of payment that are in line with the industry standard. Many casinos will aggregate commissions and make direct deposits into your account either bi-weekly or monthly.
How to Build An Affiliate Website
While you could potentially conduct your own affiliate casino business without a website, it's the best foundation for getting started.
The Domain Name
Start by getting a brandable domain name that looks trustworthy. It would help if you took some time looking at the other successful companies in the industry. Use their brands as a starting point, but add your own twist.
There are plenty of places you can get a domain, including GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Heart Internet. If you use the Heart Internet, you can purchase a ready-made site with valuable pre-written articles, backlinks, and established authority.
Hosting
One point of concern for many affiliates just getting started is where to host their site. Not all hosting companies allow gambling content on websites. Some companies outright place a ban on all gambling-related sites, but others only restrict real money gambling.
Take SiteGround, for example. This hosting site is known for top-notch performance and support. While Casinos that offer real-money gaming aren't allowed to be hosted on this site, the rule doesn't apply for affiliates. If the content on your website is just information about casinos, and you don't include any real-money games, you're good to go.
Other popular hosting sites that allow websites from the gambling niche are Digital Ocean and DreamHost. These are great options for new affiliates who are working within a budget.
When you have a domain name and a web host, you can get started on the meat of the website- the content.
Content
When your website is set up, fill it with optimized content.
Successful sites often have reviews for each of the casinos that they are their partners. Reviews provide valuable information to visitors, especially gambling enthusiasts who want to know what a third-party thinks of a platform.
Content that offers useful information is more likely to encourage clicks. Your site should provide unbiased information about game selection, accepted payment options, software providers, and security of specific online casinos.
Many affiliate marketers outsource content writing when they're starting. Many freelancers would love to write these reviews, given that they're treated well and paid a fair wage.
Building Backlinks
To build quality backlinks, you want to focus on high-quality, shareable content that can be spread organically around the internet. One way to do this is to create guest posts for other affiliates and sites that rank higher on Google than your website.
Of course, sites aren't likely to link back to a casino affiliate, unless they are also part of the iGaming niche. The best types of sites to target include casino blogs, strategy sites, poker websites, and sports betting influencers.
Follow the Rules
It's essential to look up all of the respective rules surrounding online casino affiliate marketing with your local authority. You'd be hard-pressed to find a reputable casino who will work with affiliates who don't follow the rules. Casinos are aware that a lousy partnership could lead to hefty fines on their end.
The Industry Group for Responsible Gambling (IGRG) establishes some rules of conduct in the gambling industry code for socially responsible advertising. All of your content must be adult-only messaging, and it should be open and transparent. All affiliate marketing content mustn't be written in a way that misleads consumers.
Conclusion
What separates gambling from any other industry is the fact that it has the potential of leading to drastic consequences for players involved. The barriers to entry in the casino affiliate world are more to protect vulnerable individuals, rather than to punish interested entrepreneurs.
Be aware of the social responsibility involved, establish your terms, and only work with reputable casino partners. If you follow these three golden rules, launching your online casino affiliate business is possible and may be very lucrative.
Author Bio: Alex Lysak
Alex Lysak is a CEO of ScanTeam. Alex has been working in online marketing since 2011, his main areas of expertise are marketing research, social media marketing, and SEO. During 9 years of experience, Alex has helped many product owners and startups to develop marketing strategies and to implement them further.
