EMERGING MARKETS
K ristiyan Kyulyunkov describes working for Bulgariabased affiliate Websa as a“ dream come true”. Kyulyunkov has been a passionate football fan since childhood and is a devoted Manchester United supporter – even the club’ s recent slump hasn’ t shaken his loyalty one bit.
After graduating from university with a business degree, Kyulyunkov joined real-time score site Xscores as a data operator. The role helped him land a freelance content writing gig at the then-startup site Nostrabet in 2016, before transitioning to a full-time position a year later. His proudest career moment came in 2023, when he became Websa’ s project manager, leading the 15-member Nostrabet team.
Emerging market pioneer
Founded by Kyulyunkov’ s university mentor Atanas Tanev, Websa officially entered the affiliate space in 2016, although its key products – the sports betting-focused Nostrabet, Efirbet and the casino-focused Silentbet – had launched a few years earlier, around the time iGaming regulation began in Bulgaria. Entering the market early paid off, and all three sites quickly gained traction among local iGaming enthusiasts. But Websa’ s ambition didn’ t end there. Its goal was always to expand across emerging markets globally.
“ When we first started developing our products there, we were pioneers in the Bulgarian market. So we’ re always looking for new markets where we can be among the first in the business,” Kyulyunkov explains.
Nostrabet soon expanded into Japan, Brazil, India and Arabic-speaking regions. But its most notable success has been in Africa, where Efirbet’ s alternative domain is fully focused on providing betting tips to South African users. According to PartnerMatrix’ s affiliate traffic update for February 2025, the two sites topped South Africa’ s casino traffic, generating around 368,000 clicks in just one month.
Localisation king: Websa’ s Kristiyan Kyulyunkov
Kyulyunkov believes the African iGaming industry is“ developing rapidly” and has“ huge potential,” thanks in part to the continent’ s population of over 1.5 billion, second in size only to Asia. He also points to sub-Saharan Africa’ s soaring smartphone adoption rate,
projected to reach 87 % by 2030,
as a major driver of access to iGaming websites.
“ I also think that people in Africa are really passionate about sports, especially football,” he adds.“ When you see how many African players are in top European clubs, it makes sense that people there are passionate about football and sports betting.”
Affiliates as safeguards
Like many emerging markets, Africa presents challenges due to patchy regulation. Websa has focused heavily on South Africa, where iGaming is more structured and operators are required to follow FICA verification protocols. Nigeria, by contrast, was long held back by
We’ re always looking for new markets where we can be among the first in the business a jurisdictional dispute between federal and state regulators – a conflict only recently resolved by a Supreme Court ruling that gave state governments authority over lottery and gaming. Meanwhile, most sub-Saharan countries still lack clear marketing and iGaming product guidelines.
Kyulyunkov says that while such uncertainty“ complicates things” for affiliates trying to“ maintain a reputable brand and build trust”, it’ s ultimately the players who suffer, as they’ re more vulnerable to gambling-related harm. As these markets develop, he believes affiliates should lead the way in player protection.
“ Affiliates should work legally and protect bettors by creating a safer, more trustworthy environment,” he says.“ I think African players often need more education, which is why we create guides and educational content on our African sites alongside casino reviews.”
Creative localisation
Kyulyunkov acknowledges that being based in Eastern Europe can make it harder to grasp the nuances of African betting culture. That’ s why he stresses the importance of local expertise. Nostrabet currently works with four African authors, including one fulltime writer.
“ When the author is based in the country and familiar not only with the profile of the bettors but also with the operators, they can register on the site, try the features and bonuses, and then give an honest opinion,” he explains.
SEO is central to this localisation strategy. Websa’ s SEO experts constantly track regional search queries to guide content
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