What do Amazon, Shopify, and eBay have in common? Apart from being eCommerce stores, all three have found some success with this unique type of marketing—affiliate marketing.
Amazon, in particular, has registered some amazing results with its affiliate program. 58.5% of all affiliate marketers use Amazon’s affiliates program, which earned the company $1.28 billion in the first business quarter of 2023.
So, can casinos also create a similar success story with affiliate marketing in Nigeria? Let’s find out.
How does affiliate marketing work in the casino sector?
But first things first: What is affiliate marketing? Is affiliate marketing legit? How can it be used in the casino industry? Let’s examine these step-by-step.
Affiliate marketing meaning
One of the most comprehensive definitions of affiliate marketing is that it is a collaborative advertising model where a brand/seller partners with a third-party publisher (affiliate). An affiliate could be a blogger, influencer, or marketer.
The affiliate promotes or drives traffic or leads to the brand’s products or services in exchange for a commission on the sales or leads they generate.
Three parties are involved in the model:
- Brand – the seller typically remains passive in the marketing process. However, they can still participate as the advertiser and earn a portion of the revenue generated through affiliate sales.
- Affiliate – highlights the benefits of the product or service to potential customers to encourage them to purchase. They earn a portion of the revenue when a consumer buys it through the affiliate’s unique link.
- Consumer – the consumer must click on the affiliate’s unique link. Only purchases made through this specific link will be tracked and attributed to the affiliate so they can receive their commission.
Affiliate marketing is a win-win partnership since a brand gains exposure while an affiliate earns rewards for sharing their passion and expertise on the brand’s products or services.
Is affiliate marketing legit?
Yes, affiliate marketing is legal and genuine.
Based on Google data, OptinMonster estimates the affiliate marketing industry is worth $17 billion as of 2023. More than 80% of brands rely on this type of marketing. Interestingly, Nigeria has the most Google search interest in affiliate marketing of all countries worldwide.
Several of the most respectable and well-known global companies utilize affiliate marketers. Other examples of the most prominent affiliate marketing websites include HubSpot and BigCommerce.
Affiliate marketing constitutes 16% of all eCommerce sales in the US and Canada. ZipRecruiter has pegged the average annual salary of American affiliates at just a hair above $82,000.
How casinos use affiliate marketing
In a casino affiliate program, the casino partners with an affiliate to attract new players. The affiliate promotes the casino’s services and earns a commission for each successful referral.
The affiliate receives a special tracking link or code to share with their audience. When a member of their audience clicks on this link and signs up or makes a deposit at the casino, the affiliate is credited with the referral.
The affiliate earns a commission based on the player’s activity. This could be a flat fee per player, a percentage of their losses, or a combination of both. Affiliates typically leverage various marketing channels to drive traffic to the casino.
Benefits of affiliate marketing for Nigerian casinos
Your casino should consider starting affiliate marketing programs as they offer several advantages:
- Effective advertising
You can acquire high-quality leads who are already interested in the casino niche by partnering with appropriate affiliates in the gambling industry. This eliminates the need for costly lead nurturing efforts and increases conversion rates significantly. - Pay for results
This type of marketing employs a pay-for-performance approach that ensures you only pay for results. Affiliates are rewarded only for measurable results, such as customer sign-ups or in-casino purchases. This incentivizes them to promote your offerings more aggressively to gain more earnings. - Low-risk payment structure
One of the most attractive aspects of online casino affiliate marketing is its flexible payment structure. Brands typically employ a combination of revenue share, cost per acquisition (CPA), and other hybrid models. This facilitates payments to affiliates based on specific performance metrics, such as player acquisition or revenue generated per player. - Enhanced brand awareness
Affiliates have access to specific demographics already tuned in to the casino industry. To maximize your marketing efforts, you can tap into this target audience that might not know anything about your brand at zero effort and cost. - Low barrier to entry
You don’t need a sizable marketing war chest to partner with affiliates. Startup casino operators can strategically allocate their limited budgets by employing effective commission structures.
While some initial investment is necessary for promotional materials, the relatively low barrier to entry allows you to focus on building your brand and attracting players.
As the business grows, you can adjust your marketing spend proportionally to your size to facilitate sustainable growth.
Further, you don’t require a dedicated marketing team; a small team is enough to manage affiliate partnerships. This team can focus on communicating with affiliates, negotiating contracts with new ones, and overseeing the program.
If maintaining a marketing team is beyond your means, simply hire one of the many affiliate marketing platforms specializing in handling affiliate marketing programs for companies to handle your affiliate campaign for a share of the profits. - Valuable insights and data
Affiliate marketing provides valuable performance metrics that you can utilize to track the effectiveness of your campaigns, measure ROI, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy.
Since online casino affiliate marketing is a performance-based model, you can track affiliate performance metrics and negotiate better deals with the affiliates. - Scalability
As your business grows, so can your affiliate program. Online casino affiliate marketing provides iGaming operators with nearly limitless growth potential.
Normally, the marketing effort required to maintain growth scales proportionally as your business expands. The same cannot be said for affiliate marketing. All you have to do is identify appropriate affiliates and recruit them.
This empowers you as an operator to easily expand your brand presence or launch new brands to target specific niches or markets within the ever-expanding casino industry. - Global reach
While online casinos cater to a global audience, tapping into a worldwide audience is no easy task. Affiliate marketing provides an effective solution by connecting you with affiliates who can promote your casino to players worldwide.
For instance, if you’re marketing to a Russian market, it is much easier for a Russian audience to connect with Russian casino influencers than affiliate marketing platforms in Nigeria.
Common affiliate marketing strategies used by casino marketers
These are the most popular affiliate marketing tactics employed by affiliates:
Niche specialization
Focusing on a specific niche within the gambling industry helps affiliates stand out and attract a more targeted audience. An affiliate can establish themselves as experts in a particular area, build stronger credibility and foster trust with their audience.
Quality content
Creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content is essential for attracting and retaining players. Content should address the interests and needs of the target audience by offering valuable insights, tips, and information to enhance their experience.
SEO marketing
Effective SEO marketing strategies can boost visibility and drive organic traffic to affiliate websites. This includes optimizing content for relevant keywords and building quality geared toward driving traffic to a brand’s casino.
Enticing promotions and bonuses
Promotions and bonuses can make your casino stand out. They attract new players, keep them engaged, and build long-term loyalty.
For example, you can offer welcome bonuses to draw in new players, launch ongoing promotions to encourage repeat engagement, and customize offers to cater to individual player preferences.
Targeted email campaigns
Email marketing offers a direct connection to players, making it a powerful tool for building relationships, delivering targeted offers, and keeping your brand top of mind. Through personalized and strategic campaigns, affiliates can engage players and maintain interest.
Social media marketing
To maximize your social media marketing, focus on platforms where your target audience is most active. Keep them engaged by sharing a balanced mix of informative, entertaining, and promotional content.
You can also encourage user-generated content and grow your following by offering contests or giveaways. Utilize images, videos, and infographics to capture attention and increase shares. Consider running paid advertising like social media or Google Ads.
Respond promptly to comments and messages to create a sense of community.
Challenges faced by casino affiliates in Nigeria
Some of the challenges faced by casino affiliate programs include:
- Regulatory hurdles – the industry is heavily regulated, so you require a deep understanding of local and international laws. You must adhere to regulations like Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) to avoid legal repercussions. If you don’t follow the rules, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) or an international gaming regulator will stop your website through geo-fencing.
- Competitive market – the market is saturated with numerous affiliates vying for player attention.
- Payment processing – processing gambling transactions is fraught with regulatory restrictions and payment processor limitations.
- High player acquisition and retention costs – acquiring new players can be expensive, especially through paid advertising. Retaining players and encouraging repeat visits is also a significant challenge.
- Content creation – producing engaging content that complies with regulations and resonates with the target audience is time-consuming.
- Operator-related challenges – affiliates can run into conflict with their audience if the brand they promote promises much but delivers little. Some operators can change or close their affiliate program without notice, which impacts affiliate earnings.
What Is the future of Nigeria’s casino affiliate marketing?
You should try casino affiliate marketing as it has a bright future ahead. Considering a university study shows the ROI on TV advertising is negative for most products, affiliate marketing is worth it because 26% of marketers say it provides a reliable income.
Nigeria offers a significant opportunity for online casino operators as it has a burgeoning population and a growing middle class. As the second-largest gambling market in Africa, the nation’s potential is undeniable.
Statista’s projections further solidify this potential. The estimated growth from $0.95 billion in 2023 to $1.26 billion by 2029 and a projected CAGR of 6.28% from 2024 to 2028 underscores the rapid expansion of the online casino industry in Nigeria.
In an effort to boost the ROI of affiliate marketing, it is likely more providers will integrate AI and Machine Learning for personalized campaigns to improve conversion rates, blockchain technology for safe and transparent transactions, and advanced tracking systems for real-time analytics.
The mobile revolution has reshaped the online casino industry. The increasing reliance on mobile devices has significantly impacted affiliate marketing. Over half of all affiliate referral traffic now originates from mobile devices.
Casinos must prioritize a user-friendly mobile interface, secure mobile payment options, and develop robust mobile apps. They must also integrate effective mobile marketing strategies utilizing mobile advertising, SMS marketing, and social media to cater to the growing number of mobile users.
