Why Trust Is Becoming More Valuable Than the Highest CPA in iGaming

For many years, affiliate deals in iGaming have often been compared in a very simple way: who pays the highest CPA, who offers the biggest revenue share, or who is willing to spend more money right now.

After several years working in affiliate marketing, I think this way of looking at partnerships is becoming outdated, especially in regulated markets.

Today, I would rather work with an operator offering slightly lower numbers but giving me confidence that we can still be working together three or five years from now.

Because a great deal on paper is not necessarily a great deal in reality.

We have seen this story too many times

Every year, new operators arrive with ambitious plans, large budgets and aggressive offers for affiliates. Some of them build a strong business and stay for many years. Others spend a lot of money very quickly, fail to get the results they expected and leave the market.

Sometimes the brand closes completely. In other cases, it closes its affiliate programme, reduces its activity or changes the conditions once the original budget is gone.

For an affiliate, this is not only about losing one agreement. You may have spent months or years creating content, improving rankings and sending depositing players to the operator. You expect those players to continue generating value over time. If the operator leaves the market or stops working with affiliates, much of that future value disappears.

This is why I am always a little careful when a new operator offers conditions that are much better than everyone else.

It can be a good opportunity, of course. But it can also mean that the acquisition model is not sustainable. If the operator is paying more for players than those players are worth, at some point the conditions will have to change.

And normally, they do.

A high revenue share does not always mean higher revenue

The same applies to revenue share.

A 50% revenue share sounds fantastic. But before getting excited about the percentage, I want to understand what that percentage actually means.

What is the definition of net revenue? Are there administration fees? Platform costs? Payment fees? Bonuses? Taxes? Other deductions?

You can have 50% written in your contract and still earn less than with another operator paying 30%.

For me, transparency is more important than the number used in the presentation. If the operator explains everything clearly, we can analyse the real value of the deal and decide if it makes sense.

The problem comes when the final commission is very different from what you expected when you signed the agreement.

The same can happen with CPA deals. Sometimes conversion changes suddenly, tracking becomes difficult to understand or the number of reported FTDs drops without a clear reason.

There can be a normal explanation. Maybe the traffic changed, the product changed or the operator introduced new verification requirements. But when you trust the affiliate team, you can speak openly, check the data and understand what is happening.

Without that trust, every change creates doubts.

The people behind the brand are very important

When I evaluate an operator, I also pay attention to the people I will be working with.

A good affiliate manager can make a huge difference. I value someone who answers when there is a problem, understands our business and is honest when a campaign is not performing well. It is easy to have a good relationship when everything is going well. You really see the quality of the relationship when there is a difficult conversation.

This also works in the other direction. Operators need affiliates they can trust.

If we agree on a placement, a traffic target or a campaign, they need to know that we will respect it. If the traffic is not converting, we should be willing to analyse the reasons instead of only asking for a higher CPA. And when an operator performs well, it makes sense for us to give it more visibility.

The best partnerships I have had were not based on one side trying to get as much as possible from the other. They worked because both sides understood that the agreement had to be profitable for everyone.

At BetBrothers, we think in years, not months

This approach has become increasingly important for us at BetBrothers.

We operate affiliate websites in several regulated markets. At BetBrothers UK, for example, we are not looking to maximise the revenue from one deal over the next three or six months. We want to build a website and partnerships that will still have value several years from now.

That changes how we choose the operators we work with.

One of the questions I normally ask is very simple:

Do I believe we will still be working with this operator in three or five years?

We want operators where we can build a real player base. Operators where we can confidently send quality traffic because we believe the product will convert, players will stay, tracking will remain reliable and commissions will actually be paid.

Getting paid on time sounds like something too obvious to mention.

Unfortunately, anyone who has worked in affiliate marketing long enough knows why it needs to be mentioned.

Invoices get delayed. Affiliate departments close. Companies change strategy. Markets are abandoned. Agreements are suddenly renegotiated.

And sometimes affiliates are left with unpaid commissions after spending months or years sending players to a brand.

An extra €20 or €30 CPA doesn't compensate for that risk.

Regulated markets require patience

Trust is even more important in regulated markets.

Entering these markets requires licences, compliance, local knowledge, a competitive product and a lot of patience. It usually takes time to build rankings, create brand recognition and find the right acquisition channels.

We see this very clearly in Spain, where BetBrothers Spain operates in a competitive market that rewards local knowledge and long-term relationships rather than short-term commercial promises.

For this reason, I prefer operators with realistic expectations.

If an operator expects every affiliate campaign to become profitable immediately, the relationship can become difficult very quickly. But affiliates also need to be realistic. We cannot expect operators to keep increasing CPAs if the value of the players does not support those prices.

The numbers have to work for both sides.

The operator needs a sustainable acquisition cost. The affiliate needs fair compensation for the content, traffic and players it generates. And the player needs a good product that gives them a reason to stay.

If only one side is making money, the partnership will probably not last.

The best deal is usually the one that lasts

I think experienced affiliates are starting to look beyond the biggest number in the offer.

Instead of only asking who pays the most, I want to know who I can trust. Who has a sustainable business? Who understands the market? Who pays correctly and on time? Who is transparent about tracking and deductions? Who answers when there is a problem?

Most importantly, who do I believe will still be here a few years from now?

These questions influence where we invest our time, content and traffic at BetBrothers.

Commercial conditions will always matter. A partnership still needs to be profitable. But I would choose a solid operator offering sustainable conditions over a spectacular CPA from a brand that may disappear after spending its first budget.

After enough years in iGaming, you learn that the highest-paying deal is not always the most profitable one.

Very often, the most profitable deal is the one that lasts.

Borja Imbergamo

CEO of BC Brothers