igamingbusiness . com
Questions ? Comments ? Email stephen . carter @ clariongaming . com
3
Editor ’ s Letter
Putting paid to all that
As the affiliate industry starts to put the worst period of the pandemic in its rear-view mirror , a key trend that predated it has come to the fore again , that of the divergence of the big players when it comes to paid media .
For some time there ’ s been a growing divide in the sector , with some of the big names piling into paid media while others move away from it to focus more on SEO .
The news shortly after the end of the third quarter that Better Collective was investing € 44m in paid media specialist Atemi made clear which side of the fence the sports bettingheavy affiliate is on .
Raketech seems to be taking a similar position , having acquired the paid media-led Lead Republik earlier this year , and GiG ’ s third-quarter results show the company ’ s paid media revenues are steadily rising . Catena , on the other hand , seems to be moving in the opposite direction , with its enthusiasm for paid media waning over the past couple of years .
The other big topic occupying affiliates right now is the increasing likelihood of deposit limits spreading further across Europe . Though proposals for spending caps in the UK have been widely criticised , many feel it ’ s almost inevitable some curbs will be introduced .
As for the impact on affiliates , that ’ s less clear . Over the long term the changes are unlikely to be positive , especially for those operating only in regulated markets as draconian rules often drive players towards unlicensed offerings .
But as the bonus and deposit limits in Sweden have demonstrated , affiliates can sometimes enjoy a short-term boost when clampdowns push players to shop around within the regulated markets .
“ For some time there ’ s been a growing divide in the sector , with some of the big names piling into paid media while others move away from it to focus more on SEO ”
Stephen Carter Editorial director , iGB