With the increase in online video consumption, live streaming has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. That is why live streamers leverage their skills to earn money through affiliate marketing. Popular live streamers promote partners online and casinos through streaming websites like YouTube and Twitch.
Affiliate marketing in the gambling industry is an interdependent relationship between affiliate marketers and casinos. Affiliate marketers provide marketing services for casinos to help them get more customers. The casino pays the affiliate marketer for their service.
Casino streamers are slowly replacing the traditional way of affiliate marketing. Their video format content is more engaging, thus driving more traffic to casinos. Learn about the emergence of casino streamers, how they are transforming the affiliate marketing business, and the industry’s future below.
The Evolution of Casino Streaming
Early Beginnings
Casino streaming started when live-streaming websites were first introduced. For example, YouTube, Twitch, Facebook Live, etc. Gaming enthusiasts started streaming casino games live on these platforms. Games popular among live streamers are Slots, live dealer games, game shows, etc. The videos posted by streamers were genuine reviews of the particular game or casino, which slowly built trust among the viewers.
Growth and Popularity
At first, casino streamers were streaming casino games for fun and getting more followers. However, with the interaction of affiliate marketing with live streaming, the whole process has changed rapidly. Now, casino streamers can earn money by posting their content. This led to the rise of several casino streamers. With the added funds, streamers grew quickly and could post more content, increasing their popularity and followers on these streaming websites. Some of the biggest markets for casino streamers are the US and Sweden. Casino streamers are slowly emerging in the new market in countries like New Zealand, Canada and LATAM.
Impact on the iGaming Industry
With the rapid growth of casino streamers, they have become a source of genuine information for casino players. Before signing up for any casino, players tend to watch a video by these streamers to ensure the casino is trustworthy and worth their time. Moreover, the games endorsed by casino streamers also gained more popularity. For example, if a casino has two similar games from different providers, the one favoured by casino streamers tends to attract more customers. This is how deeply the casino streamers have influenced the iGaming industry. Traditional methods like writing casino and game reviews to direct players to a casino are slowly being overtaken by Casino streamers with their more engaging content.
The Role of Casino Streamers in Affiliate Marketing
Understanding Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing in the iGaming industry is a way of earning money by referring a casino or a casino game to a potential customer. Casinos will pay you money to refer potential customers to them. The casino may pay you for referring a certain number of people or pay you a percentage of money that the player deposited on the online casino. Either way, it is profitable if you can sell the casino to players.
As you may already know, thousands of online and offline casinos worldwide exist. Every year, the number only keeps on increasing. The affiliate programmes run by casinos help them get more customers on their websites. The continued affiliate programmes ensure a positive flow of customers on the casino site.
How Streamers Leverage Affiliate Marketing
Casino streamers and online casinos partner up to promote the website. There are two ways the casino streamers get money from online casinos using their affiliate programmes:
The first is affiliate links. Streamers provide the affiliate link in the video description and pin it in the comment sections. When a viewer clicks on it and signs up, the streamer gets a small amount of money. They get paid again if the viewer deposits money into their casino account.
The second way to earn through affiliate marketing is by sharing their unique bonus code. For example, if a streamer named “Ahmed Reviews” promotes a bonus code ‘Ahmed100USD’ and a viewer uses it to get the bonus amount, the streamer will earn a small percentage of that deposit.
Benefits for Streamers and Casinos
The casinos collaborating with casino streamers get access to the audience the streamer has built over the years. This gives them visibility and marketing opportunities to get more customers onboard. Casinos can also promote new games on their platform through live streamers. It has become easier for casinos to announce new bonuses to their customers through live streamers.
As for the live streamers, they earn money by referring to a particular game or the casino to their viewers. It also helps them create more engaging content, which leads to new subscribers and more viewers. Moreover, they can earn money through ads in their videos. By increasing the number of viewers, the revenue they can generate through the streaming websites also increases. They can also earn money through super chats and similar streaming site features. Casino streamers build trust and credibility among their viewers by reviewing games and providing honest opinions.
Challenges and Controversies
Regulatory Issues
Gambling is addictive thus, many countries have outright banned it. Some tend to regulate it strictly. That is why the legality of gambling content is different for each country, which is a big obstacle for casino streamers. For example, the UK has the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which regulates gambling-related advertisements. Casino streamers must adhere to its rules to publish their content in the UK. If a casino has a casino streamer partner who has violated the advertising rules, it can fall into a legal mess.
Criticisms and Ethical Concerns
Gambling can lead to financial troubles, and in the worst cases, loss of life due to gambling debt is also possible. This is the reason why many people do not like gambling being promoted in their country. There is constant opposition which casino streamers have to face when they promote casinos in their videos.
There is also a need for casino streamers to clarify if the casino they are streaming is a promotion or a genuine review. Casino streamers tend to skip this part, which becomes a topic for criticism in the community. Transparent disclosure of affiliate relationships in videos is not only an ethical but also a responsible marketing practice.
Addressing Challenges
To promote responsible gambling, online casinos now offer multiple options to help players minimise gambling addiction. For example, casinos provide the following options:
- Time limit – You can limit the amount of time you spend on casino games.
- Deposit Limits – You can limit how much money you can deposit in your account.
- Self Exclusion – With this, you can close your account and prevent yourself from creating another account.
To address the criticism and ethical concerns of casino promotions, casino streamers have started to highlight the responsible gambling options provided by the casino. Moreover, casino streamers also provide a disclaimer on their videos before promoting the casino.
Success Stories and Influential Streamers
Profiles of Successful Streamers
One of the biggest names in the world of casino streamers is Felix Lengel, better known as xQc on Twitch. He has over 11 million followers who watch his streams.
Tyler, better known as TrainwrecksTV, is the second biggest casino streamer and has around 2 million subscribers.
Another big name is Roshtein. This Swedish streamer has a total of 970k followers on Twitch.
Here is a list of factors which helped them grow so big:
- Providing live commentaries for the games they are playing.
- Promoting genuine casinos which offer the best services.
- Helping players find the best games in the market.
- Providing entertainment for viewers.
Case Studies
Casino streamers conduct many successful affiliate marketing campaigns. The top three are explained below.
- Bonus Code Promotions: Casino streamers receive special bonus codes from casinos to promote. If a user uses the particular bonus code, the streamer gets a portion of the deposit.
- Live Stream Sponsorships: Casinos sponsor money to casino streamers to play games on their site during a live stream.
- Affiliate Links: Streamers include unique affiliate links in their content. When someone signs up using this link, the streamer earns money.
By running these affiliate campaigns, streamers get money and build loyal followers. Casino streamers provide genuine information and reviews of the casinos, increasing the viewers’ trust in the streamer. This leads to more people clicking on affiliate links.
Insights from Top Streamers
The most effective approach to building a loyal audience is authenticity. Providing genuine insights about casinos or games is crucial, avoiding misleading promotions for short-term gains. Keep your audience informed about new casino games and features, enhancing their online gaming experience.
You should also inform your viewers about the risks of playing casino games. Also, you need to educate your viewers about the options available for responsible gambling. For example, the biggest casino streamer on Twitch is xQc, and he is very vocal about the risks of casino gaming on his Twitter page.
Future Trends and Opportunities
Predictions for the Future
The future prospects for casino streaming are endless. It is proven by science that people love to watch videos rather than read long forms of content. That is why promoting casinos through streaming is the new way of marketing. VR and AR are expected to play a vital role in the coming years for casino streamers. With the latest VR headsets like Apple Vision Pro, you can watch a live casino stream and walk around simultaneously. Promoting casinos through live streaming will take a new shape in virtual worlds like Metaverse.
Emerging Trends
With technological advancements, more people worldwide can access the internet and low-cost mobile devices. This has started the golden period of mobile streaming. Now, there are more mobile viewers in the world than PC viewers.
The rise of mobile phones has even affected casinos. This is why casinos focus more on providing games compatible with mobile devices. They have also launched mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.
Casinos can now promote their feature not only through casino streamers but also with the help of social media influencers by creating reels and posts on social media platforms.
Opportunities for Collaboration
To earn money, casino streamers now only partner up with online casinos. However, a partnership between streamers and casino game providers is also possible. This will help game providers increase the popularity of their games even before the official launch.
With the invention of VR and AR, visiting an online casino virtually now seems like a dream which is possible. You can soon walk into a casino while sitting on your couch. This will provide a new avenue for casino streamers to create content to promote an online casino.
Conclusion
The casino affiliate marketing business is changing rapidly. Now, marketers are promoting casinos to earn money through affiliate marketing through casino streaming. This video format marketing technique is revolutionary as it converts more leads for marketers than traditional affiliate marketing forms.
Even though challenges like legal restrictions in certain countries and online criticism for endorsing gambling exist, the number of casino streamers is rising. They address concerns through disclaimers and promote responsible gambling to tackle this issue.
The future of casino streamers is bright, as the rising viewership and followers are a testament that this method of promoting casinos is the best. Moreover, VR and AR technology are making casino streaming more entertaining for viewers
