For this installment of our Affiliate Q&A series, we sat down with John Wright, Co-founder at StatsDrone, to explore his journey in iGaming, their strategy for 2025, and much more!
Income Access (IA): Thanks for speaking with us, John. Can you tell us a bit about your background in the iGaming industry?
John Wright (JW): My entry into iGaming was kind of accidental. One of my friends was trying to get me into the industry, but I didn’t believe you could make money working in iGaming at first. But after two years of him constantly messaging me, I decided to look into it.
I started playing blackjack online, mainly claiming bonuses and using basic strategy. Surprisingly, it gave me a return on investment very quickly. It worked out well, and that was the beginning of an iGaming journey that’s now been twenty-four years in the making.
Later, I had the opportunity to work on the operator side, including roles such as player manager, VIP manager, affiliate manager, and even in fraud prevention. Working with affiliates provided me with insight into how they manage their businesses. I saw it as a stable part of the industry. If an operator went out of business, affiliates didn’t lose their entire business, so it felt like a safe space. I stayed in that area for about 14 years.
IA: That brings us to the next phase of your journey with StatsDrone. How did the idea for StatsDrone come about? What inspired its creation?
JW: I was working as an affiliate manager and realized that not all affiliates are making data-driven decisions. When I switched and became an affiliate, I realized how big a problem revenue leak was. For example, if an affiliate program switched platforms, the old links would sometimes be invalidated immediately. Even worse is when a program goes out of business. Those programs don’t email affiliates to tell them to remove their tracking links; they simply disappear, often leaving a trail of unpaid invoices.
I just felt that when running my affiliate sites with my business partner, the problem was big, but nobody had been able to quantify it. I wanted to fix this and do something, which is how StatsDrone came to be! I started building out the idea of helping affiliates make better decisions, such as determining where to send more traffic, identifying patterns, and providing data analysis so they wouldn’t need to be data experts.
IA: Building on this vision, how does StatsDrone try to solve these key challenges for affiliates?
JW: StatsDrone is an affiliate stats aggregator, but don’t try to say that three times fast! Most affiliates work with multiple affiliate programs in iGaming, so the core problem we aim to solve is helping affiliates identify and address revenue leaks.
Overall, we offer a range of services: aggregating statistics from various platforms, normalizing and standardizing the data, adding CRM features, invoice generators, and, most importantly, delivering business intelligence to help our customers make informed decisions.
IA: If StatsDrone were a person, how would you describe its personality in three words?
JW: Precise, innovative, and curious.
If anything, I would double down on the ‘curious’ part. We knew we wanted to solve a problem, but we didn’t know how impactful our work could be. I don’t envision a day when StatsDrone is done building and innovating the product, so I see this as a long-term journey of constant innovation.
IA: Looking ahead to those entering the field, do you have any advice for new affiliates just getting started in the industry?
I am frequently asked this question by guests of the Affiliate BI podcast. There have been waves of change for affiliates over the last 20 years, and I believe we are currently experiencing our most significant wave of change.
Players will end up at iGaming brands either by direct intention, such as a search query, or in a suggestive way via a display ad; however, how players reach the final destination is currently undergoing change.
I believe players today want to be better entertained, and they want data so they can be educated. If you focus on these two pillars, you’ll find a new opportunity.
Finally, I would also highly recommend that any affiliate reach out to any Income Access affiliate manager and ask this question. These managers get a front-row seat to the changes in the affiliate space and would have great insights.
If you’d like to learn more or connect directly with John and his team, reach out today.
Be sure to get in touch with their team to discuss any partnerships!
