News
SiGMA 2018 Launches in 2 Weeks
As a well-established staple on the iGaming calendar, it is unsurprising that the interest from the iGaming industry has been intense. In 2 weeks time the super-show plans to welcome 12,500 guests, including 400 sponsors and exhibitors and 200 speakers through its doors. To keep pace with demand, the sold-out MFCC floor space has been expanded and an extra day added to the Summit dates – SiGMA will run from the 28th until the 30th of November and will be held at the MFCC, Ta’ Qali.
SiGMA will also be bolstered by a glamorous evening on the 27th – the iGaming Awards will seat a 1000 guests and pay tribute to companies who are shaking up the industry in Malta. Elevating the charitable event is Her Excellency, Marie-Louise Coleiro-Preca, President of Malta and tenor Joseph Calleja, one of the most recognisable faces in the opera world.
Following the black-tie event is a Poker Tournament. Held at the Portomaso Casino, the friendly-competitive event will offer an evening of relaxed networking to delegates looking to unwind before the start of the Summit.
SiGMA Pitch will make a triumphant return, providing a space for innovative young start-ups to gain valuable exposure. Finalists will gain a unique opportunity to win a space on the expo floor, score valuable invites to networking events and reel in potential funding and mentoring from industry veterans.
Since its inception, the flagship show has evolved from a local event capitalising on an untapped niche of opportunity, to a global influencer on the iGaming world stage. If last year’s numbers are any prediction, 2018 is set to smash all previously held records, giving the company’s ambitions plenty of space to play out.
In keeping with the global theme, SiGMA 2018 will host 6 conferences and workshops, several of which will tackle the evolution of the industry from a broader perspective, with highlights including a focus on pan-African regulation and sports gambling in the USA.
Starting on the 28th of November, the Regulatory Conference will cover important aspects of Malta’s iGaming Act, as well as iGaming Law in a broader sense – including its influence on sister topics, such as AI. The Conference will feature prestigious speakers, such as Heathcliff Farrugia, CEO at the MGA, AI guru, Angelo Dalli, and an introduction from the Honourable Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta.
The first day of the show will also host a conference for Blockchain, with Mark Suwan, CEO of Blockchip taking the chair. Taking the panels to the next level is a line-up of elite guest speakers. Individuals such as Brock Pierce, an Advisor on Open Data Exchange and Joseph F. Borg, a Partner at WH Partners, will tackle complex issues, such as transparency and the right to be forgotten, blockchain investment and ICO regulation.
The second day of the Summit will see a further two conferences play out, the Conference for Payments, which is hosted by BitBay and the Conference for Affiliates and CMO’s, hosted by InternetVikings.
The Payments Conference also offers a global perspective; from building smoother transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa, to navigating the licensing regime in Scandinavia. Other highlights include a panel on banking the unbanked and a feature on AML and social responsibility.
Chairing the Conference for Affiliates and CMOs is Richard Vikström, Founder at InternetVikings, who will also offer a welcome note and a talk on SEO brand protection. Other interesting topics include Humanism in Technology and a panel discussion on the Italian ban on marketing for gaming.
Kicking off the last day of the conference is the DGaming Conference, which offers an overview of a decentralised gaming industry, as well as creative AI solutions to optimise language. Hosted by DGaming Media, the conference will feature prominent speakers such as John Kamara, Director of Development at Global Gaming Media, and Marc Lesnick, President at Ticonderoga Ventures.
Rounding off the Summit is the final conference of the day – the eSports Conference, chaired by Ivan Filetti, Head of Business Development at Gaming Malta.
The Summit calendar will also provide delegates with plenty of opportunity for networking and entertainment. A fiercly competitive Hackathon has already drawn interest from developers through a generous $50k prize pool, whilst lavish dinners will feature throughout SiGMA. The Summit will also host a Crypto Cruise, and a phenomenal Closing Night event. A decadent Champagne Brunch brings things to a close on the 1st of December.
There can be no doubt that SiGMA has been a boon to the Maltese economy, operating in tandem with local growth and encouraging business to flourish on the islands. We’re not resting on our laurels however, SiGMA 2018 is all set to carry on this tradition of quality and, as Malta continues to position itself as a haven for industry, can expect to continue outgrowing their limitations.
Last minute tickets are still available. Visit the website to book a pass now.
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.
News
N1 Sport Promo Starts Soon: More FTDs, Higher Rates
N1 Partners is preparing a new promo for its partners, N1 Sport Promo, for the hot summer sports calendar and the main football event of the year, FIFA World Cup 2026.
The promo starts on June 10 and runs until July 20, when audience interest in sports reaches its peak and sports and prediction traffic gets strong potential for scaling.
During the same period, Wimbledon, the NBA finals, Formula 1 races, UFC Freedom 250 at the White House and the N1 Hype tournament will also take place, attracting the attention of millions of players worldwide.
N1 Sport Promo: first details
Within six weeks, partners will be able to receive additional bonuses for traffic to sports betting and Prediction Markets. The more high-quality FTDs a partner brings, the higher their potential reward.
The key mechanic of N1 Sport Promo is the opportunity to increase current rates.
Alexa Bond, Head of Affiliates N1 Partners, comments on the upcoming promo:
“Major sporting events traditionally increase interest in betting and prediction markets, opening up additional opportunities for partners to attract traffic. With N1 Sport Promo, we have focused on mechanics that reward scaling and strong results. This promo is for those who are ready to work actively with traffic and get the most out of the sports season.”
All details, terms of participation and bonus amounts will be announced soon.
The countdown to the start has already begun.
Existing partners can contact their manager now to prepare for the campaign launch and learn more about the opportunities of working with sports and prediction traffic.
Haven’t joined N1 Partners yet? Contact the manager, get involved and make the most of the 2026 sports season.
Start working with N1 Partners:
- 14+ casino and betting brands with high Reg2Dep and LTV;
- 10+ Tier-1 GEOs;
- CPA up to €700 and RevShare up to 55% + NNCO for top affiliates;
Be number one with N1!
News
N1 Insights How to Leverage iGaming Trends This June
June is one of the most volatile months for iGaming: major sporting events overheat auctions, competition for high-quality traffic intensifies, while Facebook and Google begin reallocating traffic and CPM significantly faster.
In the latest edition of N1 Insights, N1 Partners’ experts break down where competition will intensify the most and how to maintain ROI in an overheated market.
Learn about new growth opportunities, strategies that are already losing relevance, and what will actually help you scale in June!
1. GEOs, Auction Dynamics, and Search Results
1.1 Unstable GEOs in June
Facebook remains volatile: some GEOs are declining, while others present new growth opportunities. The key is not to become dependent on a single region and to continuously expand your GEO pool.
In June, the European auction is expected to be heavily overheated by sportsbooks due to the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon, and the UFC event at the White House. CPMs may increase by 2-3x within a single day. The holiday season further reduces engagement among Tier-1 audiences.
1.2 Which markets will make FB traffic significantly more sensitive to creatives and funnel quality?
| “Australia, New Zealand, and Canada traditionally remain the most sensitive to creative quality, as they are among the most competitive Tier-1 GEOs. In these countries, it is especially important to constantly test new visual approaches and audience retention mechanics,” says Polina Bogatko, Affiliate Manager. |
At the same time, more niche markets such as Ireland, Norway, and Denmark are becoming increasingly attractive for media buyers. These GEOs are more challenging, but they allow affiliates to establish relationships with advertisers earlier.
1.3 GEOs with unstable economies during scaling
In Germany, due to new content filtering protocols, Facebook’s algorithm begins expanding beyond a narrow safe audience much faster when budgets are scaled.
IP restrictions are also becoming more aggressive: as campaigns scale, the share of users unable to access the product increases. This directly impacts CPA per deposit and negatively affects profitability.
1.4 Are there GEOs where it will become noticeably more difficult to warm up a new account even with a strong setup in June?
Australia stands out in particular. With the FIFA World Cup taking place in June and additional advertising restrictions during broadcasts, the auction becomes even more overheated. New accounts with low Trust Scores find it extremely difficult to compete with established agency accounts.
1.5 How much harder will it be to maintain a competitive edge over time even with a strong setup?
Due to auction overheating caused by the 2026 World Cup and AI-powered cloning, maintaining a competitive advantage will become increasingly difficult.
| “A unique setup now survives for only 2-3 days rather than weeks. It is then displaced either by large brand budgets or thousands of AI-generated copies. The advantage is shifting from creators of isolated winning setups to teams that have the infrastructure to generate hundreds of new iterations daily and deploy them at scale through automated launching systems,” says Polina Bogatko, Affiliate Manager. |
PPC (Google / UAC / Search)
1.6 GEOs experiencing the strongest PPC auction changes in June
Football-driven GEOs are expected to be the most volatile, particularly Austria and Germany. The World Cup directly impacts auction dynamics, causing CPCs to rise significantly.
1.7 Markets where traffic quality will become harder to maintain even with budget growth
Canada can be classified as one of these markets. When campaigns scale, Google broadens audience targeting: costs increase, while repeat deposit volume remains flat.
1.8 Which GEOs currently require the deepest PPC structure adaptation?
Denmark and Norway deserve special attention. Deep localisation and local-language optimisation are becoming increasingly important despite high English proficiency levels among users.
1.9 Changes in Tier-1 competition compared to the beginning of the year
| “Many teams that previously did not operate in PPC are now entering Google to diversify their traffic sources. Teams that have been working with PPC for years are already feeling the increased competition, although they are gradually adapting to the new market conditions,” says Vlad Zilitsky, Affiliate Team Lead. |
SEO
1.10 Changes in search competition ahead of the summer season
During summer, pressure from major media holdings decreases, but competition among affiliate teams increases as they rapidly test AI-generated content and local content clusters. At the same time, rising CPCs are pushing some market participants toward parasite SEO traffic, particularly within the betting vertical.
1.11 Where can affiliates currently find undervalued SEO traffic with low competition?
Opportunities remain within local-language clusters and non-Tier-1 GEOs using English, French, or German, provided they are not the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, or Germany.
1.12 Are there GEOs where SEO remains the most stable acquisition channel?
Yes. This primarily applies to less overheated local markets. The strongest performance comes from localized GEOs with stable CACs, including Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Norway, and Australia.
Despite regulatory restrictions, Australia continues to demonstrate stable conversion rates and a minimal number of website and cross-domain bans.
1.13 Impact of KYC changes on conversion and scaling
Stricter KYC requirements negatively affect first-time deposit conversion rates, particularly on mobile traffic. As a result, the role of pre-landers, retention funnels, and strong homepage experiences continues to grow.
2. Traffic Formats and Audience Behavior
2.1 Placements that will unexpectedly lose efficiency in June
Facebook Right Column is a clear example. The European holiday season reduces desktop traffic share by approximately 15-20%.
2.2 Traffic formats delivering higher-quality audiences over time
SEO, ASO, and PPC remain the strongest channels. In June, when Facebook becomes unstable again due to platform updates, users who independently search for queries such as “best online casino AU/DE” through Google Search or Google Play continue to represent the most qualified and long-term audience segment.
2.3 Changes in traffic quality from short-form videos compared to the beginning of the year
By June, standard money-and-slots video creatives become saturated. High-quality traffic remains concentrated within UGC formats featuring real people, native storytelling, and a sense of authenticity.
Traffic itself is becoming more impulsive and expensive, as users spend more time scrolling social feeds while on vacation, at bars, or on the beach.
| “To maintain quality in June, interactive elements must be added to filter out accidental clicks. Additionally, Facebook increasingly classifies overly bright overlays and aggressive messaging as spam content”, says Polina Bogatko, Affiliate Manager. |
2.4 Which advertising angles is Facebook currently prioritising through its algorithms?
Facebook increasingly favours videos that do not resemble traditional advertisements. Examples include front-camera videos with minimal editing. A human face increases Trust Score and reduces checkpoint risks.
Moreover, these ad formats often achieve the highest Ad Relevance Scores, allowing the algorithm to perceive them as more valuable and reduce auction costs. Formats without direct deposit calls-to-action also perform well, where content is positioned as an educational explanation or a “life hack”. For example: “Where to Find Hidden Bonuses”. This type of content passes gambling-vertical filters more easily.
PPC (Google / UAC / Search)
2.5 Campaign types that may appear weak initially but deliver higher traffic quality
| “We deliberately build longer payback windows into PPC traffic because a more expensive acquisition cost is offset by higher LTV. Our strategy is not to panic when performance starts slowly but to analyse the situation correctly and adapt when necessary,” says Vlad Zilitsky, Affiliate Team Lead. |
2.6 The changing role of Demand Gen and UAC within overall PPC strategy
Demand Gen is increasingly used as a warming stage. YouTube creates the first touchpoint, while Search closes the user and drives the final conversion.
2.7 Traffic formats most dependent on creative quality
Demand Gen is the clear leader here. Visual quality plays a decisive role: creatives must be highly engaging, attractive, and visually polished.
2.8 User behavior changes that will have the strongest impact on PPC in June
With the start of summer, users in Scandinavia and the DACH region will spend significantly less time at home and on their mobile devices. Sessions will become shorter as people spend more time outdoors and less time on their phones.
This is precisely why bonus mechanics and engagement hooks capable of capturing attention quickly and encouraging users to return to the app become especially important.
SEO
2.11 Impact of AI Overviews on iGaming traffic in June
AI Overviews continue to occupy the top portion of informational SERPs, particularly for queries such as “best casino”, “how to bet”, “slot RTP”, and “bonuses explained”.
| “For iGaming, this means a continued decline in organic CTR even when maintaining Top-3 rankings. Sites with templated reviews and weak expertise are suffering the most.
Today, the winning strategy is semantic coverage that delivers deeper information than competitors. The value of pages containing unique data, live statistics, product comparisons, user signals, calculators, local expertise, and clearly opinion-based content continues to grow,” says Aleksandr Ohtins, Affiliate Manager. |
In addition, self-promotion within listicle-style content continues to perform well in Google AI Overview, AI Mode, and Perplexity.
2.12 Page types losing rankings after Google’s spring updates
The strongest declines are observed among mass-produced SEO landing pages targeting identical keywords, AI-generated reviews without real product testing, certain parasite SEO pages, affiliate pages lacking brand authority and trust signals, and outdated comparison pages without fresh offers or updates.
2.13 Content formats that best preserve CTR in a zero-click environment
The strongest performers include comparison tables; rankings featuring numerical data and regular updates; FAQs with unconventional questions; opinion-driven content; and pages with strong title-level promises such as “tested”, “updated”, and “real payout data”.
2.14 Traffic sources showing the highest volatility in June
The most unstable traffic sources remain Facebook Ads within grey-hat verticals, SEO traffic from informational queries, TikTok traffic, and parasite SEO.
2.15 Top hybrid funnels by performance right now
The best-performing combinations are:
- SEO → Telegram channel;
- SEO → Community;
- SEO → Email capture → CRM;
- YouTube → SEO;
- TikTok → SEO reviews;
- Reddit/X discussions → Branded SEO.
3. Content and AI
SEO
3.1 How critical is updating old content after Q1?
| “Extremely critical. Following the spring updates, this type of content is indexed significantly worse, especially in competitive niches.
Updating existing URLs often generates higher ROI than publishing new pages. The most effective improvements include updating statistics, adding new content blocks, and restructuring content around search intent,” says Aleksandr Ohtins, Affiliate Manager. |
3.2 Content mistakes that most frequently lead to performance declines in June
The most common reasons for traffic declines include the mass publication of AI-generated pages without editorial review, the absence of an author or subject-matter expert, GEO- and bonus-related inaccuracies, and poor mobile UX.
AI and Automation
3.3 AI tools that are currently accelerating SEO and website launches
The most valuable tools currently include:
- Wix AI — website builder;
- Semrush AI Copilot — SEO strategy;
- Surfer SEO — content optimisation;
- AirOps — content generation;
- SEO.ai — content and automation.
3.4 Processes in SEO and affiliate marketing that can already be fully automated
The following processes are now largely automated: keyword clustering, technical audits, SEO strategy development, content updates, SERP monitoring, and the generation of templated landing pages.
3.5 How does AI impact the speed of testing new GEOs and setups?
AI helps validate GEO hypotheses and reduce operational costs for SEO teams. Artificial intelligence significantly accelerates GEO validation and lowers SEO team expenses.
4. Marketing Strategy and Brand Growth
4.1 The main growth driver for iGaming brands in June
The key growth driver is the combination of product quality and marketing execution. Brands that genuinely improve their products and effectively communicate their value proposition to users will lead the market.
4.2 Why is performance marketing alone no longer sufficient for sustainable brand growth in summer 2026?
A pure performance approach no longer guarantees long-term growth. The market is shifting toward product quality, retention, and user experience.
4.3 Which marketing strategies will be most effective in the battle for audience attention?
| “The most effective approach is focused full-funnel marketing tailored to specific audience segments. Mass communication is gradually giving way to personalised engagement scenarios,” says Stase Blitz, Chief Marketing Officer. |
4.4 Which signals indicate that a marketing strategy is losing effectiveness?
The primary signal is deteriorating audience engagement quality despite stable traffic volumes. Additional indicators include declining retention metrics, fewer repeat deposits, and reduced communication efficiency in the lower stages of the funnel.
4.5 What distinguishes iGaming brands that continue to achieve sustainable growth?
Such brands typically maintain focus across several areas simultaneously: product development, account management, reputation management, and the quality of long-term user communication.
June clearly demonstrates that the iGaming market is becoming increasingly volatile: Facebook and PPC auctions are overheating due to football-related events, SEO is losing a portion of informational traffic because of AI Overviews, and successful approaches are being copied and saturated much faster.
Against this backdrop, the advantage belongs to teams that can test new GEOs faster, invest in localisation, build hybrid funnels, and prioritise product quality, retention, and long-term traffic value.
Work with N1 Partners and stay one step ahead of the iGaming market:
- 14+ casino and betting brands with high Reg2Dep and LTV;
- 10+ Tier-1 GEOs;
- CPA up to €700 and RevShare up to 55% + NNCO for top affiliates;
Be number one with N1!
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