Affiliates and the resurgence of online bingo

Published

2 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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Rightlander partners with BetBull

Published

2 months ago

September 22, 2021

George Miller

Supplier to help tier one operator improve affiliate compliance

Rightlander.com, the ground-breaking compliance platform has signed a deal with BetBull to help them improve affiliate compliance and boost responsible gambling measures.

Nicole Mitton, Head of Customer Success at Rightlander.com, said: “It’s great to see operators like BetBull partnering with Rightlander to ensure adherence to advertising regulations. These efforts are not only noteworthy from a regulatory point of view, but are also a solid indicator that BetBull are invested in protecting the interests of their stakeholders, affiliates and players in regulated markets.”

Rightlander will offer its technology which encompasses a comprehensive range of affiliate compliance tools which include the Automated Compliance Monitor, a PPC Monitor and a Proactive Affiliate Finder allowing BetBull to remain proactive and in control of their affiliate marketing.

Gabrielle Mallia, BetBull said: “We decided to opt for Rightlander because of its ability to give further visibility into our affiliate’s practices. The PPC Monitor is particularly key in allowing us to ensure adherence to policies specifically related to keywords and geos of promotion. Rightlander increases the efficiency in our compliance monitoring with its wide scope and allows us to quickly identify any breaches should they occur.”

The Automated Compliance Monitor helps detect non-compliant content across territories including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Australia and the United States. The monitor flags potential violations such as missing terms and conditions, outdated offers, incorrect marketing assets allowing BetBull to remain compliant according to their jurisdiction’s regulations.

The Proactive Affiliate Finder scans millions of web pages every month to identify new and prominent sites and the innovative PPC Monitor identifies harmful ads to stop them from appearing on an operator’s branded keywords.

Affiliate Program News

1xBet Partners: An affiliate program that stands out from the crowd

Published

3 months ago

September 7, 2021

George Miller

1xBet Partners: An affiliate program that stands out from the crowd

Nominated for the Affiliate Program of the year at the Global Gaming Awards, the 1xBet Team reveals how the bookmaker has built a 30,000-strong network of healthy partnerships across the globe, with each 1xBet Partner receiving feedback and exclusive promotional materials to ensure they accurately represent the 1xBet brand of quality and success.

iGT: How important are affiliates to the betting industry and, in particular, 1xBet?

1xBet Team: The mechanics of affiliate programs make affiliates a vital part of any industry. Betting is no exception because also, thanks to partners, brands manage to increase growth rates. This is quantifiable, with key indicators being new users, deposits, player activity.

We have great respect for the 1xBet affiliate program participants who introduce their audience to our brand. We have more than 30 thousand partners from all over the world on our side, and this list includes both the owners of huge sites and novice bloggers, for example.

The contribution of each affects the results that we achieve. Therefore, a partnership is a two-way road. After all, we, in turn, offer affiliates favourable terms of cooperation.

iGT: What is the key to a successful affiliate program?

1xBet Team: Today, the number of affiliate programs is growing, including among bookmakers, and you need to be able to stand out. How to do it? There may be different approaches here: someone offers high commission rates, someone has an original approach to communication, and someone invents new models of cooperation.

We constantly evaluate our work in the area of partnership programs. Our positive results are reflected in victories and nominations at prestigious awards. For example, this year, we were nominated for the Affiliate Program of the year at the Global Gaming Awards. This is a good sign that we are continuing to move in the right direction.

iGT: How has 1xBet assisted its affiliates to overcome challenges and reach their target markets?

1xBet Team: An affiliate program is a good opportunity to make your project profitable. For many of our affiliates, working with us is their primary source of income.

We are fully aware that partners have their own goals and challenges, and therefore we make collaborating with us reliable and orderly. Each partner can count on feedback and receiving exclusive materials for publication. We stand for quality, and we need partners to convey information about our brand correctly.

1xBet Partners is a story about healthy partnerships, where both parties try to give their maximum to achieve the optimal results.

iGT: What feedback have you received from affiliates over the last year?

1xBet Team: We have received many positive messages from affiliates. 2021 is turning out to be a great year because it’s been an exciting sports season: the Euro, the Olympics and dozens of other events. Therefore, we prepared various large promotions for all these activities.

This allowed partners to monetise their traffic, and for us – to introduce new users, who could bet on their favourite sports, to this feast of sporting action.

Let’s not forget that 1xBet is also a prominent player in the esports arena. We have major agreements with ESL and WePlay, an excellent range of betting options, plus attractive promotions dedicated to top tournaments. This only expanded the potential for cooperation with us, especially for those sites that do not gravitate towards sports.

In short, the partners are excited about how things are going in 2021. We are too.

iGT: How do you plan to continue to support and help grow your affiliates in the future?

1xBet Team: We have a number of ideas on how to make our affiliate program even better. Of course, we are constantly working on improving what we have, but we also have new ideas in our plans.

We would not want to reveal all our cards yet, but the partners will definitely be happy with any new methods adopted by 1xBet Partners. Stay tuned!

Affiliate Success

Blexr has been crowned Best Casino Affiliate at this year’s IGB Affiliate Awards

Published

4 months ago

July 16, 2021

George Miller

Blexr has been crowned Best Casino Affiliate at this year’s IGB Affiliate Awards

The IGB judges said the company’s innovative work with SEO “helped Blexr stand out as a winner, and we liked the deposit guarantee that they offer to their customers”.

The judges added: “Their selective way of working means Blexr only collaborates with top quality partners, which judges felt had helped contribute to their impressive growth over the last 12 months.”

IGB also mentioned how “Blexr’s charitable work within the community helped them stand out as an affiliate to be highly commended”.

Blexr is a lead generation company which operates in the iGaming, sportsbook and forex affiliate markets. It also owns the Home Grounds website, which serves a community of home baristas.

Ian Hills, Blexr’s general manager in Malta, said: “We’re delighted and thrilled to be recognised by IGB this way.

“We pride ourselves on recruiting smart people with innovative ideas and winning a prestigious award like this one is a lovely way for the whole team to be rewarded for their hard work and dedication.”