Affiliate Success
Exclusive Interview with Lee-Ann Johnstone just ahead of this year’s AffiliateFEST
We had the opportunity to catch up with Lee-Ann Johnstone who took time from her busy schedule to answer our questions on a wide range of topics related to affiliate marketing. Lee-Ann is the co-founder of Affiliate Insider and has been in the affiliate marketing industry for over two decades.
In the interview she talks about her career, the growth of Affiliate Insider and what is in store in the upcoming affiliate conference AffiliateFEST. She advises affiliate marketers to “invest in your skills development” and describes how to go about it.
While she admits that she has “no crystal ball that can predict the future”, she is quite confident that “commercial acumen and personal touch” will remain the secret of success in this industry even amidst the advent of artificial intelligence, machine learning, smart analytics and all that.
Over to Lee-Ann now.
GAV: Let’s start with a few words about yourself. Our audience love to hear top-class professionals saying a few words about themselves.
Lee-Ann: I like long walks on the beach and sunsets? … Just kidding, I’ve been in the iGaming space for almost two decades and seen a lot of affiliates build businesses which is incredibly difficult to do alone. Having spent a lot of time building affiliate programmes and relationships I saw the gap to break out of the corporate world and make a difference helping others to grow their businesses with mentoring support, which isn’t readily available in the affiliate sector. This is why I’ve built Affiliate Insider – a company that can help support best practice, strategic growth, and skills development for affiliates and operators alike. I’m passionate about this Chanel and about what we do and I think it shows in the quality of the services we deliver to our clients, sponsors and delegates alike.
GAV: How did you choose affiliate marketing as a career? Is it deliberate or is there an interesting story behind that. About 20 years ago, it might not have been a popular choice.
Lee-Ann: It wasn’t a conscious choice back then as it was still an industry evolving. I learned everything I know today – on the job (as digital marketing was being created still, I was learning it as we went along) I just really loved it! I moved into online from a traditional offline marketing background and had a in depth online media buying background before moving over to affiliate relationship management and I guess it was the people aspect I loved the most. Finding ways to meet the end goal and revenue objective innovatively is what spurred me on to specialise in this channel and here we are almost two decades later and I’m still learning so much each day.
GAV: It’s been under 6 months since affiliateinsider.com was launched. The website offers all-round coverage of the affiliate industry. Is the growth so far in anticipated lines?
Lee-Ann: As we are still a new brand to market our growth rate has been well above expectations and this is due to the fact that our content team know this industry inside out, we live, breathe and consume everything about the affiliate marketing sector in the iGaming space each day. We manage clients affiliate programme, we create content that supports affiliate growth and we teach others the skills our team has amassed over two decades of being in the iGaming sector. Through this FREE for all knowledge share Affiliate Insider has built a solid reputation in a very short time as a thought leader and developer of best practice, strategies that impact revenue growth and events that deliver a depth of content found nowhere else. The combination of mentoring, training, content lead events and insight is what makes this business invaluable to the industry both affiliate and operator facing. Suppliers need to engage with our site too as it is here that they will engage new business leads for the products and services they deliver in this market place. We have a steady and loyal repeat readership growing on the site and in our newsletters who spend time on the site, and take time to read the content we are delivering which is offered with no paywall restrictions.
GAV: What about AffiliateFEST? What is special in this year’s event on September 19th? Who will benefit from attending the event?
Lee-Ann: All our Affiliate Bootcamps are special – but AffiliateFEST really is about helping affiliates growth hack their marketing and digital activities on site to increase their revenue. Today we just announced the Keynote for September’s event who is trailblazing influencer marketing as a new digital medium : Ben Jeffries (CEO of Influencer along with YouTube sensation Caspar Lee). This is the kind of content we focus on bringing to affiliates and operators in order to share the latest tangible insights and marketing techniques. This really is the core of what this conferences offer. Digital Marketing Insights that help affiliates get ahead of digital disruption within the iGaming industry offering them a competitive advantage to implement strategies and tactics to really row their revenue.
Each Bootcamp we run is unique and has a very specific subject or vertical focus – for example we have the Affiliate Insider America Track coming in April 2019 at Betting On sports America, and an exclusive African Business Retreat for those affiliates who want to expand their business and localise into the African Market as well as have a but of a retreat in South Africa alongside to take time out from working in their business to work ON it.
GAV: You have been in this industry for two decades. What’s your advice to people who are starting out on the affiliate industry? What does it take to become successful in the industry?
Lee-Ann: It’s a lot of hard work. You learn every day and you need to keep your knowledge base fresh. I consume an incredible amount of media around the subject of affiliate marketing, I also write a lot about it too from my own experiences which helps to upskill others. It takes determination and grit to be a good affiliate manager, as the skills set required to be a real good one is vast. My advise to anyone coming in to the industry is to invest in your skills development by finding experts you can learn from. This generally means finding people who have hands on experience for a few years longer than you in doing the job successfully.
There is no accredited School of Affiliate Marketing for the iGaming space. Therefore we have created The Affiliate Insider Training academy which offers a range of training options for both corporates and individuals to gain access to expert lead affiliate marketing strategies and for affiliates – a source of iGaming business mentoring that can help them advance their skills and work with like minded individuals to knowledge share and grow revenue in the affiliate space. Everything we do is about offering a high end in depth service with tactical content that can be implemented in any iGaming business for success.
GAV: Final question now. Could you provide your take on the evolution of affiliate marketing industry over the years? We have been hearing a lot about machine learning and all that. Will there be a time when robots take over affiliate marketing scene?
Lee-Ann: I think we are in for a big evolution in terms of how the affiliate model sits within the digital marketing mix. As one of the largest and most cost effective drivers of traffic the channel continues to evolve year on year and grow. AI is a big part of the reason why this is happening as we get smarter analytics and more regulated the opportunity for innovation continues to expand in this channel as well. The entire ecosystem will need to overhaul the value chain and how relationships interact in the affiliate model. We could see a move to differential pricing from traditional CPA and Revenue Share or Hybrid models based on tracking omni channels more accurately. There is no crystal ball that can predict the future but I can say that relationships will always require a commercial acumen and personal touch to really succeed and this is what we excel at delivering at Affiliate Insider as well.
Thanks for your time Lee-Ann, we really appreciate it, and all the best for the AffiliateFEST!!!
Affiliate Success
ReferOn Wins Prestigious “Best Affiliate Software 2025” at SiGMA Central Europe B2B Awards
A milestone achievement as ReferOn continues to impress
ReferOn, the next-generation affiliate management platform, has taken the title of “Best Affiliate Software 2025” at the SiGMA Central Europe B2B Awards, held in Rome.
The award recognises ReferOn’s rapid growth in becoming a leader in iGaming. It distinguishes the platform for its cutting-edge architecture, exceptional product innovations, and measurable impact on affiliate operations.
Redefining Affiliate Management
In a short amount of time since its inception, ReferOn has become one of the most recognised names in affiliate technology, leading the way by creating user-centric features that help the real needs of affiliate managers.
The platform recorded rapid adoption, supporting an influx of tens of thousands of affiliates and millions of clicks while continuously evolving and growing with new features and refinements. The platform’s approach to innovation and user-facing experiences is its new living interface, Refie. Refie brings awareness and human-like interaction to the platform, helping make affiliate operations more personable and accessible.
Building Beyond the Standard
Alex Bukin, General Manager at ReferOn, commented on the win, “This award is more than recognition. It empowers and validates our team, encouraging us never to stop building. At ReferOn, we always aim to shape how affiliate marketing should work. At its core, it should be simple, transparent, and powerful. Every new integration and feature comes from a team that deeply understands the product and what real affiliate managers need. This helps us refine our platform to be the best it can be. And we’re only getting started!”
Continued Momentum
ReferOn’s win at SiGMA Central Europe marks another significant achievement. In 2025, the platform conducted multiple migrations and released groundbreaking features to transform affiliate operations. Its sights are set on 2026 — a year that will be focused on product refinements, sustainable growth through key industry partnerships, and delivering more key solutions for real affiliate managers.
Affiliate Success
Casino Guru secures SiGMA Central Europe B2C Awards’ Best Affiliate 2025 distinction
Casino Guru has won the “Best Affiliate 2025” category at the SiGMA Central Europe B2C Awards, distinguishing the company’s efforts in delivering the best online casino database and guiding players to the safest casinos of their choice.
Via Tuscolana hosted the ceremony on Tuesday, November 4, in Rome, Italy, distinguishing a number of companies, among which was Casino Guru, which secured the landmark accolade for itself.
Commenting on the win, Casino Guru’s Head of Casino Research, Matej Novota, said: “Winning the Best Affiliate 2025 award at the SiGMA Central Europe B2C Awards is a meaningful milestone for us as we approach the end of the year. At Casino Guru, we are honored to be recognized in this category. Our mission has always been to build the world’s most comprehensive online casino database and to offer impartial insights that empower players to make informed decisions. This award strengthens our resolve to continue serving as a trusted bridge between players and operators, while upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and fairness in everything we do.”
Casino Guru has been awarded for its unflagging commitment to providing players with the most reliable up-to-date information about casinos and bonuses.
At its core, Casino Guru is committed to making the gambling industry safer and promoting best practices in Responsible Gaming. The company plays an active role in shaping these standards, drawing on its extensive experience, expertise, and firmly held values of fairness, integrity, and transparency.
Platforms such as the Global Self-Exclusion Initiative and Casino Guru Academy have been created to foster a better understanding of Responsible Gambling and how players and industry professionals can leverage it to their benefit.
Notably, the Casino Guru Awards have become a trend-setter in actively encouraging change on the part of industry stakeholders, and distinguishing deserving individuals and companies across numerous categories, such as Rising Star in Responsible Gambling, Most Impactful Social Responsibility Initiative, Fairest Bonus Policy, Industry Culture Shaper, and more.
Casino Guru has worked tirelessly, developing the world’s most complicated ranking system, the Safety Index, which carefully examines each casino’s offer, focusing on criteria favored by players, and issues an objective score that is also regularly updated.
Besides the Safety Index, Casino Guru has launched and maintains a world-beating independent adjudication service, the Complaint Resolution Center, which has returned more than $50m to players, including closing cases that involved more than $1m disputed by a single player.
Casino Guru is proud to receive the latest accolade from the SiGMA Central Europe B2C Awards, celebrating the company’s commitment to making gambling safer and better for everyone out there.
Casino Guru is proud to announce that it has won the Safer Gambling Initiative of the Year at the iGB Affiliate Awards 2025, for a third consecutive year.
The distinction further highlights the company’s commitment to building a sustainable future for the gambling industry, not only through its dedication to providing players with the most complete, real-time-updated database of online casinos curated by trained experts, but also through its efforts to influence business standards and responsible practices across the sector.
As a leader in informed play, Casino Guru has dedicated a significant portion of its time and efforts to building a casino database that uses safer gambling as one of its core metrics for assessing a brand’s reliability, sustainability, and treatment of customers.
Casino Guru’s Head of Sustainable and Safer Gambling, Šimon Vincze, was excited to share his appreciation for the award: “As someone closely involved in responsible gambling and safer play at Casino Guru, I can say this award is a true testament to our work. We’ve worked tirelessly to leverage our market position to produce tangible outcomes in terms of awareness and impact of safer gambling practices, player complaints, and the availability of blocking software. We are a trailblazer in safer gambling among affiliates, but collaboration with other like-minded companies has enabled us to stay at the forefront.”
Casino Guru could not be prouder of this moment, which once again reinforces the company’s leadership in helping to set safer gambling standards industry-wide.
Daniela Sliva, Public Relations and Creative Projects Director, commented on the distinction: “Winning the Safer Gambling Initiative of the Year for a third consecutive time was an emotional moment and a well-deserved one. Casino Guru has worked tirelessly to establish itself as a leader in promoting sustainable and responsible play. We truly believe we are setting new standards for responsible gambling, not just within the affiliate space, but across the wider industry. Our company ethos places safer gambling at the heart of everything we do, from our Complaint Resolution Center to the Safety Index, and especially through initiatives like the Casino Guru Awards, which further reinforce this commitment.”
Among the achievements that Casino Guru has to be proud of are the Casino Guru Awards, which have established clear competitive guidelines for safer and responsible gambling and distinguish companies that adhere to the Casino Guru’s ethical guidelines and best practices.
Furthermore, Casino Guru established the Gamtegrity platform, which reunites all of the company’s safer gambling projects in one place.
Among Casino Guru’s notable achievements are the Casino Guru Academy, which offers upskilling programs with a focus on responsible gambling, the Global Self-Exclusion Standards Initiative, an active list of partners with some of the leaders in the responsible gambling space, including Mindway AI, and much more.
“An industry-wide commitment to responsible gambling is not only possible: it’s within reach. Casino Guru’s achievement at the iGB Affiliate Awards 2025 is yet another reason for us to double down on our efforts and work even harder to make this vision a reality,” Silva concluded.
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