Affiliate Success
Affiliate Interviews: David Hjelmström, founder of Betting.se and SweGaming Affiliates AB
There is no doubt that the online gambling sector of the Scandinavian region drives large volumes of players and the quality in term of wager value is the most increased in the industry. However this also means that the competition is harsh among affiliates that are looking to attract the players and drive them towards partner brands. The story of David Hjelmström, founder at Betting.se, is quite interesting and it gives us an inside scope of what is happening in the online gambling affiliate industry of the Scandinavian region.
David is the 3rd affiliate which will fly for free to SiGMA(Summit of iGaming, Malta). You to can benefit of this promotion, just be sharing your story as David did. Read more details here: https://gamblingaffiliatevoice.com/share-story-us-get-free-flight-sigma-limited-offer-first-40-affiliates/
Without any further side details, I give you the interview with David Hjelmström.
GAV: First, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to interview such a highly appreciated professional of the industry. Could you fill out the short form below so our readers can imagine your profile?
- Name: David Hjelmström
- Age: 21
- Hometown: Gothenburg
- Living in: Gothenburg of course, where else.
- Favorite Food: Meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries
- Must Read Book: Svenska miljardärer (Swedish billionaires)
GAV: Tell us a bit about yourself, we want to know who David really is, the main person behind Betting.se. Where were you born? What was the key idea of developing this great website?
David: I were born just outside Gothenburg city where I lived for a long time and then moved into central Gothenburg later on. In high school I meet my future colleague. We started to bet on football and ice hockey games before we had the age with our parent’s IDs. It continued and we were thinking, someone has to make money on this. So we started our first affiliate site, betexpert.se. Since then we have built a lot of casino and sports affiliate sites with varying quality. With betting.se, we wanted to invest properly on a website that really stands out.
GAV: Since there are thousands of sports betting review websites out there, and the Scandinavian market is quite ruff, where do you think Betting.se stands now?
David: I think we make a serious impact on the Swedish market out with our new site Betting.se. It just got launched and in the next couple of months and on EM we will already play a big role.
GAV: What are the strong points of the website and what makes it stand out from the niche websites? We can certainly say it jumps out of the routine websites…the design is really appealing.
David: I think Betting.se is standing out with our daily Betting tips and our own build odds checker. We are also in the work with filming video reviews that will stand out. The design is not a normal WordPress theme. Bettting.se design is built from the grown by my amazing Colleague.
GAV: What were the bumps on your road when you got started and how did you overcome them?
David: The first and biggest bump so far is the domain Betting.se. We had a tough work getting in touch with the owner that just had the domain but no website on it. After some dealing about the price, the domain where ours. If you don´t give up and continue to fight you will overcome everything with a bit of luck and timing.
GAV: We have browsed your website and found some high quality content. Are you writing it by yourself or you have a team of people writing your editorials?
David: We have an in-house team that writes most of our editorials. But of course I cannot get my fingers across from writing my own articles.
GAV: How do you keep the content fresh and devoid of clutter when a lot of fluff and nonsense appear on the Internet on a daily basis?
David: There is for sure a lot of fluff and nonsense on the internet but I don´t think it affect us on a bad way. We get our information on official websites. One of our content manager is also an old hockey player and knows people in the biggest league in Sweden and also NHL. There we get some unique content for sure.
GAV: We are sure that you receive daily messages from Affiliate Managers showcasing their products. You of course select them by the brands they work with; but what are your thoughts on how Affiliate Manager-Affiliate relationships should be built?
David: Yes, we get a lot of emails from affiliate managers that wants to work with us. There is always a balance between the brand and the person in self. We also search around and ask people if they are a trusted affiliate program. It is easier to work together if you have a personally relationship with people. Therefore, it is perfect to eat dinners on conferences or just drink a water together on the conference.
GAV: How do you see the future of the gambling industry? For instance, will it become a truly global phenomenon in the near future?
David: I think the gambling industry will continue grow for a long time. It is still a lot of people that are interesting of gambling but has not taken the step yet. It will undulate but continue grow for a long time. But the margin will be smaller in the future with game taxes and more competition.
GAV: Can you name one change that you want to see in the sports betting affiliate ecosystem?
David: I would like more transparency for affiliates. I think it is important that the affiliates know exactly how their players behaves and what they think is good and not. It will help the player value.
GAV: What advise you would like to offer to the new affiliates who are looking to venture into this great industry?
David: When we started in 2013 we felt a bit late. I think it is really hard to venture into the business at the moment. But with tough work, everything is possible but it will take a lot of time and efforts.
GAV: Who is your favorite celebrity?
David: Henrik Lundqvist
GAV: If you would just open your YouTube search bar, what would you search for?
David: I would search for my favorite hockey team, Frölunda
GAV: Back to work. Do you attend any iGaming conferences? If so, which one is your favorite and what is your most fun experience?
David: I have attended to all iGaming conferences since I started in the business. The conference I get most out of is London. The most fun experience has to be in a conference in Barcelona for three years ago. Me and my colleague had a meeting with a new brand we had not yet met. We got along well and flied to Madrid the day after to watch El Clásico.
GAV: What is your opinion overall about affiliate conferences such as SiGMA?
David: I like SIGMA a lot. The location of SiGMA is great. It is good for the gaming people outside Malta and also easy for the people how lives on the island. It is nice to come and visit the companies in their headquarters.
GAV: How do you rate the chances of Eastern Europe becoming potential gaming hotspot of the future? Where do you think the region must improve upon?
David: I think the chances are good. I don´t see why it should not be a gaming hotspot. I think the region has improved a lot the last five years.
GAV: Alright, here comes the fun part…., where would you like to travel in Eastern Europe, some part of the region maybe that you haven’t visited yet and favorite destination around the world.
David: I would like to visit Klaipéda in Lithuania. I have never been to Lithuania so I think that would be a nice experience. My favorite destination, I have to say Las Vegas.
GAV: Where you wouldn’t want to travel in Eastern Europe?
David: I would like to travel to all countries 🙂
GAV: What is your opinion about GAV (Gambling Affiliate Voice – gamblingaffiliatevoice.com)?
David: The Gambling affiliate voice is useful for us. We look for certified affiliate programs and also read the articles about the industry.
Affiliate Success
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
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
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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