platform being used to promote illegal and unregulated gambling operators. According to Twitch, it wants to be a safe platform and the ban aims “to prevent harm and scams created by questionable gambling services that sponsor content on Twitch.” “We will prohibit sharing links and/or referral codes to sites that offer slots, roulette, or dice games,” Twitch explained. Couple this with the fact that some gambling streamers who have made money through gambling affiliations, such as Ismael Swartz (“Roshtein” described as “a casino-philosopher with an incredible technique”) appear to be endorsing the Twitch ban and saying that it “could be going into the right direction.” The question must surely be - how long before others, including YouTube, are forced to adopt Twitch’s approach to safety? Watch this streaming space. There have been other developments that might also cause affiliates a few sleepless nights. The continued growth of sports betting in the U.S. is now starting to garner some interest from big names and brands from outside the world of gambling. Both Jay-Z and Ben Affleck have been linked to new betting license applications in New York submitted by Kambi. Their success means that an already competitive affiliate and acquisition market is going to be flooded with newcomers from other sectors. For some, this will create an opportunity and help boost revenue. For others, it could result in slimmer margins and a fight for survival. There is also the ongoing challenge of emerging markets and evolving regulation. The latest big market to go live is Germany, historically one of the big European gambling hubs and a strong market for affiliates. Alas, it seems this is no longer the case. The start of the newly regulated market also saw the end of affiliate revenue share models, now prohibited under the new regulations. This has meant many have had to revert back to a more general Cost per Click and Cost per Acquisition strategy. Usually, this would not be such a big concern, and especially not for a market where there is a known and established gambling audience. The problem here is that the new German regulations massively restrict the types of products allowed, with some of the products known to support affiliate acquisition not available. The new regulations also include mandatory stake and deposit limits. A maximum stake of €1 and a mandatory player deposit limit of €1,000 per month. This is per player not operator. With so many restrictions, it can only be a matter of time before the regulated market starts to face the predicted stiff competition from the black or unregulated market experts have been warning about, leaving affiliates having to make some tough decisions. The same could be said of some of the other evolving or emerging markets around the world. The Netherlands appears CHALLENGES ABOUND FOR AFFILIATES This isn’t just bad news for those affiliates focused on the relatively young esports bettingmarket, it is disastrous for all affiliates given the speed at which streaming and social media channels are replacing the traditional acquisition routes for gambling - especially when looking for new customers or emerging markets where technology has skipped a whole generation. G P W A t i m e s . o r g 22
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