How To Use Affiliate Programs To Boost Engagement In Your Online Casino

Perhaps my biggest mistake in launching my online casino was underestimating the power of compounding networking. As a single unit, my team and I can only do our best to get our casino running and get the word out there, but it’s important not to disregard the fact that your users can do a lot to promote your casino, as well.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over time, it’s that with affiliate programs, you can utilize one of the most effective and easiest-to-implement strategies for growing your casino brand. Now that I’ve said that – let’s not get too ahead of ourselves and rush into affiliate programming. While it’s easy to implement, there’s still a right way to do it, and I’d rather you don’t make the same mistakes I did by rushing into it.

Types Of Affiliate Programs for Online Casinos

The first time I looked into affiliate marketing, I was bombarded with a ton of jargon and terminology that, frankly, scared me to bits. A thousand different ways to evaluate performance metrics, figure out the ideal cost-to-benefit ratio and dive into the different types of affiliate programs as – well, quite extensive.

However, once I dipped my toes a little deeper into affiliate programs for casinos in particular, I found that they’re actually quite simple for this particular niche. That’s mostly because there are two main types of affiliate programs in online casinos, and both of them are quite straightforward:

• Influencer Affiliate programs
• Standard Referral Systems

To shed a little light on both kinds, let’s dive a little deeper and discuss how you can make the most of each type.

Influencer Affiliate Programs

Influencer-based affiliate programs are the ones you go to when you’re not scared to admit you’re in the baby stages. Let’s be honest: no one’s capable of making their online casino boom right after launching without any marketing at all. So, what do you do when you realise not many people know about your name?

Well, you turn to people who can lend you their name. You incentivize influencers, ideally from the gambling space, to promote your brand by vouching for it and advocating over its plusses. Of course, to do that, you need to make sure your casinos follow all rules and regulations – no one wants to be caught vouching for a shady business.

While most influencers will take a base fee for promoting your brand, alongside a cut of the revenue generated through their influence, you can certainly work through some negotiations to reduce the capital you spend on this marketing. The way I did this was by providing influencers with data on how much they could benefit from their affiliate link by promoting my business, along with my revenue model for complete transparency. By showing them the house edge of my casino (for instance – 7%) and sharing how much they would earn through the people they bring in (i.e., 3% of that), it’s pretty easy to get enthusiastic people on board.

Essentially, I was asking them to make a bet on me rather than giving them everything up front – if their influence manages to make my casino kick-off, everyone wins. If it doesn’t, then all they lose is a bit of their time. It’s all about how you sell yourself in the end.

Standard Referral Programs

Standard referral programs are much simpler to pull off once you’ve made a name for yourself. The way these work is that you allow everyone to generate an affiliate link – a means through which they can invite their network of close friends and family. If they successfully introduce new people to your platform, they’ll get a cut of the revenue or wagers their network spends on your online casino. However, it’s still pretty important to look into past data on how these collaborations have helped other casinos grow their user base. While the actual numbers vary based on who you collaborate with and the current standing of your casino, most casinos usually see a 16-22% growth in user base after incorporating affiliate programs for their regular user base.

An often overlooked tactic that I originally ignored as well was the power of progressively increasing incentives. You want your most efficient ‘referrers’ to be rewarded for their success. Not only because they’re bringing the most people to your platform but also because you want other people to see how they can benefit from promoting your casino. You might be wondering how you can do that, so let’s see an example of what progressive rewards you can introduce to your online casino.

Tier-Based Rewards For Referral Programs

The industry standard I’ve come across when setting rewards for referral programs usually starts at a simple percentage of cashback. If someone's friend wagers on your platform after joining through someone's affiliate link, the person who referred them gains a small percentage of their wager in their account. However, if you want to start implementing tier-based rewards for your best marketers, here’s an example of how you can do that.

By laying the rewards out in an attractive way that makes your affiliates feel special, you can greatly incentivize them to promote your online casino in a way that everyone wins.

Closing Remarks

There are not a lot of ways to go wrong with affiliate marketing. I mean, it’s a win-win scenario for everyone, so who wouldn’t want a piece of the pie? As long as you’re implementing the right strategies, you’ll be boosting casino engagement in no time!