Introduction
Introduction
Under the cosh: The pressures in igaming affiliate
marketing
The pendulum-swing of regulatory and legislative opinion against online
gambling marketing comes at a pivotal moment for the affiliate sector. Moves
in some territories, such as the UK, Italy, Sweden, Spain and Belgium, place
affiliates in the gambling regulatory spotlight, while other moves in relation to
online advertising are similarly changing the nature of the affiliate landscape.
All this is taking place against a backdrop of slowing M&A momentum. The
rise of the super-affiliate is closely tied to the regulatory embrace and has
helped to create a market structure that is now more clearly defined than
ever before between large and small. The likelihood is that the current lack of
deals is more of a pause and that more deals will be announced during 2019.
But at the very top of the tree Catena Media has said that its M&A strategy
has evolved towards fewer, and potentially bigger, deals.
The regulation of US sports betting is one example of how new markets
bring their own challenges and opportunities. This report looks into the
interplay between the online gambling regulatory backdrop and the affiliate
marketing sector, and discusses how it has already adapted and how the
market will evolve in the years to come.
4
Under pressure: Regulation and the evolution of affiliate marketing