Five affiliate trends for 2016
Jesper Søgaard, founder and CEO of Better Collective, looks at the five trends and events that could shake up the affiliate market in 2016
Euro 2016 set to be the biggest betting event everÂ
With the European Championship now consisting of 24 teams, up 50% from 16 teams in Euro 2012, there are going to be more betting opportunities and therefore more acquisition options for both affiliates and operators.
Even in the two short years since the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, betting in-play and cash out capabilities have boomed on both desktop and mobile. Combine that with the Europe-friendly kick off times, as opposed to tricky Brazilian time-different two years ago, and this could be the biggest betting event in history. Affiliates, such as our flagship site bettingexpert.com, as well as the wider industry, will of course be clamouring for as big a slice of the action as possible.
The changing landscape in Europe
The regulatory landscape across Europe and the rest of the world is always a hot topic for affiliates. In 2016, Romania is likely to finalise their new gambling laws, with a number of operators already looking to secure a licence. Affiliates will have to monitor this situation closely and ensure that they are ready from a practical standpoint to move into action quickly and effectively to assist those launching in newly regulated markets.
Elsewhere, we could also see change in markets such as Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Portugal. Even Germany could potentially be added to that list. All this possible change in the European gaming environment promises to drastically shake up the market.Â
eSports & fantasy sports continuing to grow
There was significant growth for both eSports and fantasy sports in 2015, and we donât see that slowing down. Early signs are that the two areas are fast becoming an integral part of the gambling industry.
There remain some question marks over the legal structure and regulation, particularly in fantasy sports, which weâll be monitoring, but for affiliates this could be the next big opportunity for growth.
Dynamic SEO challenges aheadÂ
As more and more adblockers are successfully developed, the importance of SEO in the affiliate landscape will only increase. The challenge for those with an SEO focus will be to stay ahead and ensure that those blockers donât hinder campaign tracking, meaning that website owners miss out on legitimate player sign-ups.
Understanding and developing for multiple devices will also put added pressures on the tracking and reporting of platforms. However, all this flux also represents a huge opportunity to those who can harness the change and stay one step ahead of the competition.
Better integration to provide more partner opportunitiesÂ
Bookmakers are now far more open to giving access to their APIs, which in laymanâs terms means that tech-savvy affiliates have the opportunity to integrate more operator capabilities into their websites. Having the ability to place bets, for example, without even leaving an affiliate site is something that could become a reality in 2016, which is an exciting development for both affiliates and punters.