News
Nigel Leigh Appointed CTO at Footballco from XL Media PLC

Hire boots Footballco’s revenue diversification strategy
Global football content and media company, Footballco has announced the appointment of Nigel Leigh as its chief technology officer. Leigh joins Footballco from XL Media PLC where he held the role of chief information officer.
At Footballco, Leigh will be responsible for product design, development and engineering for the company’s portfolio of football media brands, which include global football brand, GOAL and leading women’s brand INDIVISA, as well as local market titles, including MUNDIAL (UK), Kooora (MENA), Voetbalzone (Netherlands), Spox (Germany), and Calciomercato (Italy).
Across its brands, Footballco reaches between 80m – 100m fans a month through its web and app platforms, driving more than one billion user sessions [according to measurement platform SimilarWeb].
Before XL Media, Leigh was chief digital technology officer at Johnston Press and head of commercial platforms (digital) for Telegraph Media Group.
Leigh’s new role will see him join Footballco’s leadership team and report to Footballco CEO Juan Delgado.
Leigh will be responsible for leading design, product and engineering teams across Footballco offices in the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Middle East.
Delgado said, “Since Footballco was spun out of DAZN in 2020, with backing from TPG, we’ve seen significant growth, with 2x revenue as well as revenue diversification, making Footballco less reliant on the traditional ad media model. This has been aided by significant progress across affiliate revenue as well as growth in new markets, such as the Middle East and US.
“Nigel represents an important hire for the company to take this progress to the next level, as demonstrated by his time at XL Media PLC where he played an important role in growing the company’s affiliate business.
Similarly, his time at Telegraph Media Group and Johnston Press demonstrated his ability to lead large teams across global offices and bring publisher brands together into single tech stacks.”
Leigh said: “I’m excited to join Footballco and look forward to working across the company’s suite of football media brands at a time that is both exciting for the company and football in general.
“Footballco’s scale in football is unmatched, but there’s also huge room for growth, in terms of new revenue streams, affiliates and new markets, whether they’re geographical or demographic, such as women’s football.”
Awards
ReferOn Earns Dual Nominations for Innovation and Marketing Excellence at SiGMA Euro-Med Awards 2025

The company continues its growth in 2025 with key industry recognition
ReferOn, a next-gen affiliate management platform has been shortlisted for the “Affiliate Product Innovation” and “Best Marketing Solution Provider” categories at the upcoming SiGMA Euro-Med Awards 2025.
These nominations come after an important year for the company, defined by strong market traction, continuous product development, and an increased demand from operators and affiliate managers looking to transition from outdated legacy platforms to a more agile, transparent, and scalable solution.
Since its launch, the ReferOn team has demonstrated its commitment to solving real problems for affiliate teams. At the core of its value propositions is creating a simple and accessible platform that’s built for modern needs. Core developments like full-cycle automation, customisable dashboards, instant postbacks, and real-time data visibility help to reduce chaos and boost performance. Additionally, tools like the Sub-Affiliate System, No Bundling Model, and dynamic variables assist with increased operational control.
Vlad Bondarenko, ReferOn’s Head of Product, commented on the nominations, “We didn’t build ReferOn to compete with legacy platforms — we built it to replace them. Every development, addition, and decision is guided by the goal of empowering our users to move faster, make more insightful decisions, and scale efficiently. These nominations have shown us that we’re moving in the right direction and that our incredible team is working towards something truly impactful.”
ReferOn’s roadmap remains ambitious and future-focused, with numerous investments in product developments, customer-facing services, and initiatives that help affiliate teams act faster and move smarter.
News
StatsDrone now supports over 2000 affiliate program integrations

StatsDrone has achieved a significant milestone in their journey to being the best affiliate stats app both with accurate data and with the most affiliate program integrations.
The company recently achieved a milestone of over 2000 affiliate program integrations. Most of the integrations are for iGaming affiliate programs while others include affiliate networks, finance affiliate programs and crypto related programs.
Since launching the app over 4 years ago, the other milestone achieved is nearly 1200 affiliate programs marked as migrated or closed.
The multi-award winning app connects to affiliate programs through credentials using scraping or through using API keys. API data is supported by 61% of affiliate programs listed on StatsDrone currently as of August 2025.
COO and Co-Founder Darrell Helyar had this to say about the milestone: “Achieving this milestone reaffirms StatsDrone’s position as a leader in affiliate marketing, enabling affiliates to optimize performance and drive results. With an exceptional team committed to accuracy, innovation, and support, we continue to build trust and deliver outstanding results for everyone we support.”
The data that StatsDrone can get for customers is on the following levels: account, brand, campaign, dynamic variables and postbacks.
Dynamic variables, advanced data solutions for affiliates
Dynamic variables are proving to be one of the more popular tools offered at StatsDrone.
Dynamic variables is supported with the following affiliate program software: MyAffiliate, ReferOn, Mexos, CellXpert, Income Access, Affilka (SoftSwiss), RavenTrack, Alanbase, tap (Smartico), MAP, Post Affiliate Pro, Affise, Affelios, Entain / BetMGM, FlexOffers, NetRefer and PartnerMatrix.
Postbacks are currently available in StatsDrone for MyAffiliates, Affilka, Affise, Cellxpert and a few more.
StatsDrone helps affiliates identify when affiliate programs closed or migrate affiliate software which can render their old tracking links as invalid.
Finding affiliate programs
StatsDrone doesn’t just have 2000 affiliate program integrations but every integration is a review and part of our program database.
Affiliates can search for programs by affiliate software, if they have an API for accessing their data, postbacks, dynamic variables and exclusive deals too.
By far the most common integration technically falls under proprietary which means operators that choose to build their own affiliate program and not use a platform.
MyAffiliates has been the most popular platform as operators choose to launch their platform off of. Affilka, ReferOn and RavenTrack have been the fastest growing platforms.
On top of getting stats to affiliates, the company does it all with accuracy in mind. If an affiliate finds any data point not to be what it should be, they can report it to the StatsDrone team to have it fixed.
Likewise, if an affiliate wants a single program added, it is added to the list and most of the time the program is added within minutes.
News
Slotozilla Expands Partner Network With 25+ Affiliates and Unveils 139 New Bonuses in Q2 2025

Riding the wave of a hugely successful Q1, Slotozilla has continued its momentum through Q2 on the back of iGB Live London 2025. The platform consolidated the quarter by adding over 25 affiliate partners and launching 139 exclusive bonuses. This milestone marks a glistening moment in the company’s mission to deliver premium value and choice for online casino stakeholders.
Slotozilla, widely regarded as the go-to destination for expert casino reviews and free slot demos, confirmed the new additions in July. The partnership network now features several industry trailblazers, such as:
- FTDgallery: Known for offering exclusive bonuses and promotions.
- GameGrow: A network renowned for its games and deep insights into the Canadian market.
- ToTheMoon Affiliates: ToTheMoon is a leader in championing gamified campaigns in several markets.
- Luckpartners: Emphasises a mobile-first approach and localised gaming experiences.
Each partnership leverages unique regional expertise and, importantly, exclusive promotions to enrich users’ journeys on the platform. The new affiliates collectively unlock a vast array of offers, including 87 welcome bonuses and 52 no deposit bonuses. This totals 139 sublime bonuses right there for the taking.
The iGB Live London 2025 presented a golden opportunity for Slotozilla to engage equally outstanding industry leaders to improve user experiences. The company subsequently sent a delegation of experts to the event. “It was an incredible experience to meet so many passionate affiliates face-to-face,” said Tim Cline, Slotozilla’s editor-in-chief. “I’m proud of the collaborations we’ve initiated and excited about the value these brands will bring to our users.”
Geographical reach also extended into 15+ nations during Q2, with significant growth in Germany, Poland, Canada, and Italy. These expansions reiterate Slotozilla’s global vision and its commitment to localised content. With tailored bonuses and responsible gaming advocacy, the platform has never been more player-centric.
Looking ahead, it appears that activity is not slowing down any time soon. Slotozilla aims to grow its affiliate roster, refine its rankings, and introduce fresh insights to its platform.
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