The world of sports betting represents an incredibly lucrative opportunity for affiliates. In fact, in the 2009 Income Access affiliate survey, 45% of affiliates reported focusing primarily on sports betting.
But before jumping into the world of sports betting, affiliates should get familiar with the different sports betting products, commission structures, and affiliate deals available to them. Doing so will help them choose the best sports betting partner for them.
sports-bettingThere are two different kinds of sports betting sites that affiliates can earn commissions by promoting. The first is bookmakers where the house makes the odds, and players bet accordingly. The second is betting exchanges where players can bet against one another, and the house simply takes a rake the bets they wager.
There are also a few different commission structures available to sportsbook affiliates. Revenue share is currently the most common, but many affiliates also continue to work with CPA, paid tenancy, and hybrid models.
For example, some top-tier sports betting affiliates will only carry an affiliate banner if a bookmaker also agrees to pay them a flat-rate per month in addition to whatever commissions they earn. This represents a hybrid of paid tenancy and whatever other commission that the affiliate will earn if a player clicks on that banner and then loses money at the sportsbook. Another option of a commission structure would be performance-based deals where affiliates can receive bonuses or special tiered commissions for generating a certain level of revenue.
Sports betting affiliates can also benefit from a number of deals that help them convert players by offering their traffic one of a number of player-focused promotions. This can help affiliates increase their earnings by helping them increase their conversions.
Freebet promotions, for instance, offer players free money to use with their first bet. Bear in mind, however, that these freebets usually require that players wager a certain minimum before they can withdraw the money that that they win with their freebets.
Betbaskets are another player promotion that affiliates can use to increase conversions. These are a lot like freebets, but involve giving players more free money over time as the play continues to play.
Bookmakers will also offer event tickets and other special player prizes. Affiliates can often capitalize on these, too, to increase their referrals.
Just as with any other online gaming vertical, sports betting offers affiliate a variety of ways to monetize their traffic. It’s important, however, that affiliates choose a way that’s most compatible with their player-base. Once an affiliate can identify what commission structure would best suit their traffic and what promotion would appeal most to their players, they can then choose a sports betting partner they best meets their business needs.
