‍ReferOn, a state-of-the-art affiliate management system, has won the “Rising Star Provider of the Year” title at the 2025 AffPapa Awards — a milestone that recognises the platform’s bold innovation and rapid growth in the affiliate tech space.‍

This award reflects ReferOn’s ability to deliver fast, transparent and scalable affiliate solutions that answer key industry demands. The category highlights the best rising companies in the iGaming and affiliate marketing industries, celebrating innovation and problem-solving solutions.

The AffPapa Awards is an annual event that recognises greatness in iGaming. The ceremony  celebrates developments and innovations among affiliates, operators and B2B providers who have raised the bar and set new standards.

‍Vladyslav Bondarenko, ReferOn’s Head of Product, commented on the achievement, “ReferOn wasn’t built to impress, it was built to solve. From day one, we challenged how affiliate platforms should work, look and feel — because the existing ones simply didn’t. More than a win, this award highlights the value of asking the right questions and building with purpose.”

2025 has been a crucial year for ReferOn, with the company receiving widespread industry recognition and implementing core product developments. Heading into Q3 and Q4, ReferOn is preparing a range of new features and enhancements focused on elevating the user experience and streamlining affiliate operations. The team will travel to iGB Live in London this July ready to share what’s next, meet with partners and discuss how ReferOn is refining affiliate management.

On May 13th, the Eastern European Gaming Summit (EEGS) hosted a dedicated affiliate webinar exploring one of the most pressing challenges in iGaming today: how affiliates can stay commercially effective while adopting an increasingly responsible role in player protection. The session, titled “Balancing Compliance and Conversion: The Affiliate’s Role in Responsible Gaming” featured Gjorgje Ristikj, Founder of Gamblers Connect and Co-Founder & CEO of RankRadar, as keynote speaker.

The conversation unfolded against a backdrop of intensifying regulatory oversight and market saturation, highlighting the transformation of the affiliate segment into an essential part of the iGaming ecosystem. As emphasized during the discussion, affiliates are no longer peripheral actors but full-fledged digital media businesses, operating with considerable investment in content, compliance, analytics, and brand credibility.

Ristikj pointed out that modern affiliates are increasingly absorbing roles traditionally associated with internal marketing teams, from advanced SEO operations and audience segmentation to responsible gaming communications and transparency standards. These shifts are not merely cosmetic. As the speaker noted, operators now rely on affiliates not only to acquire traffic but to reinforce brand integrity, especially in competitive or newly regulated markets.

One of the core themes discussed was the growing expectation for affiliates to support safe gaming environments, both through the content they produce and the brands they choose to promote. In a concrete example, Ristikj introduced a Responsible Gambling Scoring Index, developed by Gamblers Connect. The tool evaluates operators on the presence of key responsible gaming features and publicly displays a score to inform and empower players. This kind of initiative reflects a broader industry movement to embed responsible gaming principles at every stage of the user journey.

Another major focus was the mounting operational pressure faced by affiliates. While operators remain accustomed to revenue-share partnerships, Ristikj argued that fixed listing fees are becoming necessary to sustain professional affiliate operations. Investment in content, platform development, video production, and tracking infrastructure has significantly raised the cost of doing business, especially as privacy regulations and attribution challenges reduce the reliability of traditional performance models.

The webinar also touched on the emergence of video-driven affiliate strategies and personal branding as a differentiator in a crowded landscape. As new players, many backed by agencies or former operator teams, enter the market with aggressive strategies, trust and transparency are becoming the critical assets for sustainable success.

The session concluded with a clear message: affiliates who want to remain relevant must adapt to a new standard of accountability. That means embedding responsible gaming principles not only as a compliance checkbox but as a core part of the brand experience, something players, regulators, and operators will increasingly expect.

The EEGS Affiliate Webinar is part of a broader initiative by EEGS to provide actionable insights and elevate the strategic role of affiliates in the global iGaming industry.

For those who missed the live session, the on-demand video is now available. You can watch the full session here: https://youtu.be/MJeYZfPI6Rs?si=BVp0yA0Vcpu9FDJx