iGaming affiliate marketing is performance marketing for licensed gambling operators. An affiliate (a comparison site, tipster, streamer, media brand or app) sends players to an operator through tracked links, and the operator pays commission on the players who register and deposit. Payment is usually a share of the net revenue those players generate, a one-off fee per qualifying player (CPA), or both.
Operators run this through affiliate programmes with published terms. The affiliate takes on marketing duties that are defined by the operator’s licence conditions, which is the part newcomers tend to underestimate.
The flow, step by step
- Application and checks. The affiliate applies to a programme and passes the operator’s due diligence. bet365 partners’ terms, for example, let it request identity documents and suspend or terminate if due diligence cannot be completed (terms).
- Tracking. The affiliate gets tracked links or codes. A player who clicks through and registers is tagged to that affiliate.
- Qualification. For CPA, the player must meet conditions such as a minimum first deposit within a set window. Betsson Group Affiliates uses 60 days from registration (terms).
- Calculation. Each month the operator calculates net revenue for the affiliate’s players and applies the agreed rate.
- Payment. Commission is paid once it passes a threshold. Super Partners pays once €100 is owed, per its terms.
Commission models
| Model | Paid on | Main risk for the affiliate |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue share | % of net revenue from referred players | Player wins, deductions, carryover clauses |
| CPA | Fixed fee per qualifying player | Players rejected as non-qualifying |
| Hybrid | Smaller CPA plus smaller share | Both, in smaller doses |
| Sub-affiliate | % of another affiliate’s commission | Depends on the referred affiliate |
888 Affiliates lists all four structures, including a sub-affiliate scheme. The detail lives in two definitions: what “net revenue” deducts, and what makes a player “qualifying”. Our NGR explainer compares published deductions, and rev share vs CPA works through the numbers, including negative carryover.
Compliance: the operator’s licence travels with the link
Affiliates are not usually the licence holder, but operators make them follow the licence conditions anyway, because regulators hold the operator responsible for its marketing.
What the published terms say, in brief:
- Betsson Group Affiliates requires affiliates to act “as if they were bound by the same licence conditions” as Betsson, including, for Great Britain, the Gambling Commission’s LCCP, the CAP/BCAP advertising codes and the industry code. Market-specific sections cover places such as Brazil and Cameroon, including responsible gambling messages and licence details in ads.
- 888 Affiliates says traffic from Romania requires the affiliate to hold a Class 2 licence, and that US traffic requires the affiliate to complete registration with, or hold a licence from, the relevant state gaming regulator (commissions page).
- bet365 partners makes commission “strictly subject to applicable laws and regulations”.
In some places the affiliate needs its own licence. Gibraltar’s 2026 fee rules set an £8,000 application fee for a marketing or affiliate services licence held in or from Gibraltar, and an annual fee of £50,000, or £25,000 where annual sales are under £200,000 (LN.2026/065).
A practical compliance checklist
- Only promote brands licensed for the reader’s market, and show the licence details where the terms require.
- Keep age-gating and 18+ (or local age) messaging on every page that promotes an operator.
- Show significant bonus terms next to the offer, not behind a click, where the market’s ad rules require.
- Never target self-excluded or vulnerable people, and keep keyword blacklists the operator provides (888 publishes an industry keyword blacklist link on its affiliate site).
- Register or license as an affiliate where the market requires it.
- Keep records: which creative ran where, and when.
How affiliates get paid more (or less)
Operators publish the mechanics that move an affiliate’s real rate:
- Volume tiers and activity thresholds. Super Partners’ 25% standard casino and sport rate drops to 20%, 10% and zero if new active customer targets are missed over 6, 12 and 18 months.
- Deductions. Taxes, bonuses and provider fees come out before the percentage. When a tax rises, as UK Remote Gaming Duty did to 40% on 1 April 2026 (HMRC), revenue share on UK players falls even if the rate does not change.
- Carryover. Whether negative months reset or carry forward.
- Changes by notice. Super Partners states that continued participation after it posts updated terms means acceptance. Betsson’s version 52 terms took effect from the first unbilled month after 15 October 2026 for affiliates who did not terminate.
Where traffic comes from
The usual channels are organic search (comparison and review content), paid media where operator rules allow it, social and streaming, email, and apps. Organic search content is why casino-focused SEO agencies exist as a supplier category (see our casino SEO agencies list).
Paid search is the channel most hedged by terms. bet365 partners, Betsson Group Affiliates and Super Partners all bar affiliates from buying search keywords that match or resemble their brands, and Super Partners says it does not pay CPA on customers sent via brand bidding. Read the keyword clause before launching any paid campaign.
Written for an 18+ industry audience. If gambling is causing problems for you or someone close to you, see our responsible gambling page or call the National Gambling Helpline, free, on 0808 8020 133.