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First Georgia iGaming Affiliate Conference: What Was Discussed at the Event?

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First Georgia iGaming Affiliate Conference: What Was Discussed at the Event?

 

On October 18, Smile-Expo held the first Georgia iGaming Affiliate Conference in Tbilisi. The event was dedicated to the specific nature of online and offline gambling business operations, Georgian gambling market prospects, and casino promotion using affiliate marketing.

The conference brought together casino managers, affiliate network representatives, government officials, webmasters, arbitrage experts, SEO specialists, as well as gambling regulation and taxation professionals.

Speakers’ presentations

Sviatoslav Slaboshpitskiy, Head of SEO at Digital Choo (DC), spoke on the topic: The Art of War in SEO: How to Win the iGaming Niche. The speaker stressed that one should develop niche websites to achieve efficient results. At the same time, it is significant to analyze the response and to evolve resources showing the best performance. Sviatoslav also talked about the rules of SEO team building. The expert recommended entrusting the content creation to single-discipline specialists as well as developing checklists and tutorials for newcomers.

Dmitriy Makarov, CEO at Zlodei Advertising Agency, and Gleb Sanzharevsky, CMO at Zlodei, made a collaborative presentation dedicated to ad placement on YouTube and Twitch. They explained that promotion via influencers could increase conversion better than direct advertising. The experts stressed that user stories and popular memes made ads more fruitful.

Nikola Minkov, CEO at Serpact, examined the application of the so-called Featured Snippets, zero blocks in the search results. According to the speaker, Google provides users with such snippets in 40% of the queries. They allow online resources to generate organic traffic and enhance the click-through rate.

The audience was intrigued by Ketevan Bitskinashvili, Chief Financial Officer at the Ministry of Finance of Georgia. The speaker told them about the special features of the Georgian gambling market regulation. She mentioned that the cost of gambling permissions depended on a venue type, a target region, and a number of installed gambling machines. The same parameters affect tax rates.

Ms. Ketevan stated that Georgia had already issued 214 gambling licenses. 20 casinos are operating in the country now. 10 of them are located in Batumi and its suburbs, 6 in Tbilisi, and one each in Gudauri, Tskhaltubo, Kazbegi, and Sighnaghi.

Giorgi Gvenetadze from Adjarabet raised an issue of online casino customer acquisition. The speaker believes that the core feature of advertising banners used by Georgian casinos is the availability of luxury car images. Besides, promotion messages mostly appeal to senses of beauty, control, and simplicity.

Panel discussion

The conference featured a panel discussion titled ‘Offline and online casinos. Review of tools for the competition for user attention’. It involved:

Shota Amiranashvili, President of the Association of casinos in Adjara;

Levan Kavtaradze, Director of Gaming department at Pokermatch;

Giorgi Gvenetadze, Head of Product Marketing Department at Adjarabet;

Lavrentiy Gubin from Shangri La Casino, an invited guest.

Experts said that primary advantages of land-based casinos included reach experience of the gaming process, expensive surroundings, and staff attentiveness. Virtual gambling platforms are lack of these aspects. Therefore, discussion participants think that offline gambling venues will never shift to the online space.

Speaking about the most in-demand gambling entertainments, specialists highlighted simple and user-friendly games like roulettes. Moreover, they noted that poker was becoming less popular because of the high buy-in. Currently, we can see a crypto casino trend, as such platforms ensure anonymity.

Participants also focused on the state regulation of the gambling market. According to them, countries failing to regulate the gambling business lose money that could go to the government budget as taxes. One more fact specified: gambling advertising bans give an impetus to look for new audience engagement channels.

Afterparty

The conference ended with a party. Guests, speakers, exhibitors, and sponsors were able to enjoy live music, Georgian sweets, beverages, and snacks. The afterparty allowed participants to communicate in a relaxed atmosphere and establish useful business contacts.

We express our gratitude to the Afterparty Sponsor, NOFLEAD gambling resource, helping to carry out the afterparty in an extremely comfortable environment.

Sponsors, exhibitors, and participants

Companies offering various iGaming goods and services introduced their solutions and services in the exhibition area. Event sponsors were exhibitors as well.

Badge and Bag Sponsor: Digital Choo, an international marketing agency with deep expertise in gaming.

Exhibition Area Sponsor: SoftGamings, a provider of advanced В2В solutions for online casinos.

Afterparty Sponsor: NOFLEAD, an online gambling resource aimed at both beginners and experienced gamblers.

Lanyard Sponsor: ZLODEI, an advertising agency with deep expertise in native advertising.

By the way, attendees were able to examine a stand by IBCCS TAX, an international company providing a wide range of fiduciary services.

Another event participant was Partners.io, an affiliate network for cryptocurrency gambling programs.

The Smile-Expo team expresses its gratitude to sponsors, speakers, and exhibitors for participation in the conference. We look forward to seeing you at the next events dedicated to gambling and affiliate marketing.

Affiliate Success

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

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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.”

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Affiliate Success

ReferOn Wins Prestigious “Best Affiliate Software 2025” at SiGMA Central Europe B2B Awards

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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.

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Affiliate Success

Casino Guru secures SiGMA Central Europe B2C Awards’ Best Affiliate 2025 distinction

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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.

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