Affiliates and the resurgence of online bingo

Published

7 years ago

June 11, 2019

Affiliates and the resurgence of online bingo

Thomas Jones, founder of NewBingoSites.net, says millennials present a huge opportunity for affiliates but they must overhaul their propositions to engage this lucrative demographic

Online bingo is enjoying a resurgence in play among UK consumers and is proving to be particularly popular with younger players and millennials.

A recent survey by Wink Bingo found that 65% of UK bingo players are under the age of 44 with 35% of them falling between the ages of 25 and 34.

These players are drawn to the simple nature of the game, the community aspect it offers

and it being a natural fit for smartphone and tablet play.

Unlike other casino games such as blackjack and poker it requires no skill and while it is a game of chance, it is not held in the same regard as slots.

Indeed, many put bingo in the same category as lottery, which also enjoys mass market appeal.

The simple nature of the bingo – much of which is automated when played online – is combined with a sense of community and entertainment.

Most operators offer live chat and forum facilities, and the various themes and brands mark out bingo as an inclusive and fun pass time.

The opportunity presented by this resurgence in online bingo play is not going unnoticed by operators; 888 recently snapped up Costa Bingo from Jackpot Joy Group for £18million.

This perhaps unexpected trend also throws up tremendous upsides for online bingo affiliates who now have a new demographic of player to go after.

But millennials are a savvy bunch, and affiliates will need to really up their game if they are to engage them and build the trust required for them to make a buying decision.

This is going to mean taking a new approach to the design and layout of their sites, via the content they create and publish and the channels through which they communicate.

These are some of the things they must consider and deploy:

Sleek and stylish design:

Affiliates provide the information, insight and entertainment that helps players to decide where and what to play.

With this in mind, it is important to look at other affiliate publishers that have high levels of millennial engagement outside of the gambling sector to see what does and doesn’t work.

This could mean prioritising content over bingo sites listings; this has not been the case in the past but could prove key to engaging younger audiences now.

Consideration must also be given to how easy it is for users to navigate and explore the site, especially from smartphones and tablets (more on this later).

High value content:

Affiliates must also overhaul their content strategies – it is simply not good enough to publish a handful of reviews and a small library of bingo guides.

Millennials wish to be educated and entertained, so the content created and published must reflect this and include things like news, features, interviews and reports.

It is also important to take into account the type of content that is being created – this should go beyond the written word to video clips and even audio blasts and podcasts.

The content itself needs to be of the highest quality and provide significant value to the reader. If it doesn’t, affiliates will fail to build trust with younger audiences.

Ramp up activity on social media:

Affiliates spend a great deal of time, and money, on ensuring they rank highly in the SERPs and while this is still important, there are other ways of tapping into millennial audiences.

Social media is hugely important in this regard, and affiliates must have a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

But they must do more than share links back to their articles and reviews.

To truly win on these channels, they should become part of conversations and have something meaningful to contribute.

In addition to this, they should also think about working with social media influencers as they provide easy access to younger audiences and have a huge impact on their decision to buy.

Mobile, mobile, mobile:

It goes without saying that all of the above must be deployed with a mobile first mentality, from design to content via being active on social media.

Millennials and younger audiences live their lives via their smartphones and tablets and products and services (such as affiliates) that don’t work on mobile will not be engaged with.

This means affiliates must think about how their sites are designed – no excessive swiping and scrolling – as well as the approach they take to content – short and snappy.

For social media, think about new ways of creating content – perhaps video reviews for Instagram stories – and ensure it still engages, educates and entertains.

Doing all of the above is no easy task, but given the increasing popularity of online bingo, particularly among millennials, the rewards for those that get it right are set to be huge.

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ReferOn Shortlisted for Two EGR B2B Awards 2026 Following Record Platform Growth

Published

4 days ago

June 4, 2026

George Miller

ReferOn Shortlisted for Two EGR B2B Awards 2026 Following Record Platform Growth

ReferOn, the data-driven affiliate management platform, has been shortlisted in two categories at the EGR B2B Awards 2026: “Affiliate Software Supplier” and “Full Service Platform of the Year (under 5 years)”.

These nominations reflect ReferOn’s rapid evolution from a fast-growing platform into a mature affiliate management solution trusted by operators seeking greater scalability, automation, and operational control.

Solving Affiliate Management Complexity at Scale

Over the past year, ReferOn has focused on solving one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: managing affiliate programmes efficiently at scale. By automating key affiliate management processes and transforming fragmented data into actionable insights, the platform enables operators to scale partner programs more efficiently while maintaining full visibility and control.

Turning Data Into Faster Decisions

As platform capabilities expand, Refie serves as an intelligent UX layer that makes complex data instantly understandable. By translating backend logic into intuitive visual guidance, it helps users move faster, make better decisions, and spend less time navigating reports.

By translating technical precision into intuitive visual feedback, Refie eliminates the need to dig through dense reports, guiding users toward real-time performance and faster decision-making. It moves beyond simple functionality; it’s about giving teams their time back by making complex data instantly readable.

Alex Bukin, CEO at ReferOn, commented: “These nominations reflect the momentum behind ReferOn’s evolution into an award-winning platform built for operators who refuse to compromise between sophistication and usability. We’re proud of how far we’ve come, but even more excited about the opportunities ahead.”

The winners will be announced at the EGR B2B Awards ceremony, taking place on June 3 at City Central, HAC, in London.

Affiliate Success

TAG Media and Gamblitude Launch affie.ai

Published

2 months ago

April 22, 2026

George Miller

TAG Media and Gamblitude Launch affie.ai

The AI-Powered Affiliate Manager Assistant Set to transform Affiliate Management in iGaming

TAG Media and Gamblitude have launched affie.ai, a guided decision-making engine built for iGaming affiliate managers. It combines TAG Media’s 150+ years of collective affiliate management experience with Gamblitude’s operator-grade data and analytics platform.

affie.ai will make its debut at SBC Summit Malta (28–30 April), where affie.ai’s Elaine Gardiner, Alana Weldon and Wojtek Sznapka will be demonstrating the platform to operators interested in becoming one of the first five launch partners.

The Problem affie.ai solves

Affiliate management sits at the centre of operator acquisition strategy. It demands financial judgement, negotiation skill, data literacy and market knowledge. Yet there is no industry-standard training, no widely accepted playbook and no safety net when a commercial decision goes wrong.

The data is there. What’s missing is consistent, effective interpretation. With time, an experienced affiliate manager may know what a declining CPA trend means in a specific market or when a revenue share deal needs renegotiating. A less experienced one may not – and that gap costs operators money, talent retention and competitive ground.

Even for experienced affiliate managers, having the requisite time and patience with convoluted systems and tools to spot gaps and opportunities, even ad hoc, is progressively rare, further limiting their ability to achieve sustainable growth within their affiliate programme.

By encoding proven affiliate management expertise directly into their daily workflow, affie.ai gives affiliate managers the ability to make decisions grounded in real programme data and industry best practice, positioning them for true proactivity with their affiliate partners.

What is affie.ai?

affie.ai is a guided decision-making engine, not a dashboard and not a tracking platform. It is trained on real affiliate programme performance data and built on the strategic frameworks TAG Media has applied across 50+ programme launches over the past decade.

On the data side, Gamblitude, founded by former STS chief technology officer Wojtek Sznapka and former STS chief sportsbook officer Piotr Cerlak, provides the analytical backbone: a cloud-native data layer purpose-built for iGaming operators.

The result is that affie.ai provides affiliate managers with specific, data-informed recommendations on deal structures, partner performance, programme optimisation and commercial risk insights, removing the time spent and consistency required in pulling reports, second-guessing spreadsheets to build progressive performance.

For operators, affie.ai delivers measurable reductions in programme management overheads, faster onboarding of new affiliate managers, institutional knowledge that stays in the business regardless of team changes and the agility to make rapid commercial decisions to positively impact the bottom line. affie.ai gives affiliate managers the power of proactivity.

Human Relationships, Sharper Decisions

Affiliate management is a relationship business. Trust between manager and affiliate drives long-term value – no tool replaces that.

affie.ai removes the noise around those relationships. Instead of debating whether a deal is commercially sound, the affiliate manager already has the answer and can focus on the conversation. affie.ai provides human-led decisions with AI-led precision, built on real data, not assumptions.

Elaine Gardiner, Co-Founder of affie.ai says: “After 17 years managing affiliate programmes for operators including Cherry Casino, Ninja Casino and Rizk, I know what good decision-making looks like in this role and I know how rarely it’s supported by the right tools. affie.ai takes the strategic thinking our team applies every day and makes it available on demand and at pace: specific to your programme, specific to your data and ready when the affiliate manager needs it.”

No Strings Attached Six-Week Trial – Five Places

affie.ai is offering five operators an exclusive six-week trial. No fees. No lengthy onboarding. Operators connect their affiliate programme data and their affiliate team uses the platform to obtain new insights on their own numbers, enabling faster commercial decisions on deals to build growth. To book a meeting, email [email protected] or visit www.affie.ai to register your interest in using affie.ai to build affiliate programme growth.

Affiliate Success

ReferOn Shortlisted for “European Corporate Services Supplier” Category at EGR EUROPE Awards 2026

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4 months ago

January 29, 2026

George Miller

ReferOn Shortlisted for “European Corporate Services Supplier” Category at EGR EUROPE Awards 2026

ReferOn, the next-gen affiliate management platform, has been named on the EGR Europe Awards 2026 shortlist in the “European Corporate Services Supplier” category, recognising the platform’s solutions that help real operators with their operations and growth.

Continuing 2025’s Momentum

The nomination reflects a busy 2025 for ReferOn, one that was highlighted by significant product updates, rapid growth, and an ascent to becoming one of the most recognised affiliate management platforms in the industry.

Going into the new year, the ReferOn team has ambitious plans to accelerate this positive momentum by scaling alongside its growing partner base with advancements to its product vision around clarity, transparency, and ease of use. The EGR Europe Awards 2026 marks a pivotal start to 2026, and an award win demonstrates that the platform’s direction truly resonates with operators and affiliate managers worldwide.

Refie’s Human Impact

Refie, the platform’s human layer, transcends a mere surface-level companion. It hops around dashboards and workflows, providing relevant assistance, such as fixing reward logic, identifying anomalies, and making suggestions to the user.

In 2026, ReferOn plans to enhance Refie’s functionality with advanced platform gamification, engaging users and transforming how affiliate managers interact with their day-to-day operations. These developments will pave the way for personalised, smart intelligence on the platform and set an industry standard for affiliate tech.

Alex Bukin, General Manager, commented on the nomination and plans for 2026, “ReferOn made great strides in the past year, with major product developments, key recruitments, and a rapidly growing partner base. With this growth, our expectations have risen, and we want to establish ourselves as a platform that accelerates affiliate tech across the board. Being nominated for the ‘European Corporate Services Supplier’ category solidifies our ambition and is a meaningful start to our new year. With Refie driving more innovation, we look forward to driving our goal of transparency, clarity, and customer-facing features even further.”