Running Affiliate Programmes for UKGC Brands: Daniel Stanton on Fees, Margins and Affswap

Daniel Stanton walked into a Ladbrokes shop in 2001 because of an advert in the window and has not left the industry since. Twenty-five years on, his Gibraltar agency, iGamingAffiliates.io, runs the internal affiliate programmes of some of the larger UK-licensed brands, from recruitment and commercial terms through to reporting, for a monthly fee that starts at £3,500 and rises steeply for gambling operators spending half a million pounds a month on affiliate traffic.

It is a business built on the kind of relationships we examined in our piece on why operators are quietly cutting affiliates out of attribution, and it is being squeezed from both sides. Clients facing higher duty, tighter rules and rising costs want cheaper suppliers; Gibraltar’s new marketing licence adds an annual bill of nearly £50,000 before the first salary is paid.

In between, Stanton has built Affswap, a contact-swapping network for affiliate managers that now tracks 618 websites and 91 million visits of monitored traffic, and revived his recruitment business as iGamingRecruitment.io.

For Gambler Media, Daniel Stanton writes about what an outsourced affiliate igaming programme costs, how he judges one he has just taken over, and why a £50,000 licence fee has him questioning whether Gibraltar is still the place to run it from.

Outsourced affiliate programme management for UKGC brands

For readers who don’t know iGamingAffiliates.io, what does the company do?

We manage operators’ internal affiliate programmes. For the majority of the brands we work with, we run the programme from start to finish, taking responsibility for affiliate recruitment, onboarding, commercial negotiations, relationship management and reporting.

We work with some of the bigger UKGC brands, and our team becomes part of their operation, working closely with senior management, marketing and compliance.

In some cases, the operator already has a Head of Affiliates and we act as their right arm. They lead the wider strategy, and we provide experienced managers to help execute it and handle the day-to-day workload. It depends on what the business needs.

I started at Ladbrokes in 2001, so this year marks 25 years in the industry. IGA has been built around that practical experience and the relationships developed along the way.

What does managing an operator’s affiliate programme involve day to day?

There is a lot more to it than sending out an offer and asking affiliates to promote it.

Our team researches potential partners, assesses whether their traffic is relevant, agrees commercial terms and helps get campaigns live. Once a partner is active, we monitor performance, discuss opportunities and deal with the everyday questions that come with running a programme.

We also work with the operator on offers, reporting and commercial decisions. If something is not converting, we need to understand why. Is it the traffic, the offer, the landing page or something further along the customer journey?

“A good affiliate manager needs to understand the commercial picture, keep relationships moving and spot problems before they become expensive.”

A good affiliate manager needs to understand the commercial picture, keep relationships moving and spot problems before they become expensive.

What an affiliate agency costs, and why operators buy rather than build

Why would an operator choose IGA rather than build its own affiliate management team?

For senior teams, it can be easier and more cost effective to bring us in than to recruit people and spend months training them. They need experienced managers who understand the industry, can take ownership and get on with the job.

That applies whether we are running the entire programme or supporting an existing Head of Affiliates. A senior person might know exactly what they want to achieve but need reliable people around them to deliver it, without having to guide every conversation or commercial decision.

With IGA, they get that experience alongside the support and knowledge of our wider team, for an agreed monthly cost. We fit into the structure they need, whether that means taking full responsibility for the programme or strengthening the team already in place.

What does it cost to work with IGA, and what is included?

Our fees depend on the size of the programme and the level of support needed. At the lower end, basic affiliate management can start with a one-month trial at £2,500, paid in advance, followed by £3,500 per month with a 60-day notice period.

Those are starting figures. We also manage brands spending around half a million pounds a month on affiliate traffic. Programmes of that size require considerably more resource and responsibility, so our monthly management fee is significantly higher.

The service can cover everything from affiliate recruitment and onboarding through to commercial negotiations, ongoing relationship management and reporting. Affiliate commissions and traffic spend are separate from our management fee.

We work with businesses across a range of budgets. If you need support, it is worth having a conversation so we can understand what you need and put a suitable proposal together.

Taking over an affiliate programme: the first audit and how success is measured

When you take over a programme, what do you look at first, and how do you measure success?

First, we need to understand what we are taking over. Who is sending traffic? Which relationships are active? What deals are in place? Where is the programme making money, and where is it spending without getting enough back?

We also look at the basics. Are affiliates getting answers quickly? Are the offers competitive? Is the reporting useful? Sometimes there are opportunities within existing relationships that have been overlooked.

Success needs to be agreed with the operator. New depositing customers matter, but so do player value, acquisition cost and how long the traffic takes to generate a return. Adding lots of affiliates means very little if they never become active or their traffic does not perform.

“Adding lots of affiliates means very little if they never become active or their traffic does not perform.”

We want to build a programme that makes commercial sense for the brand. That means looking beyond the initial acquisition numbers and understanding the value those players generate over time.

618

Websites tracked by Daniel Stanton’s affiliate manager network

91 million

Visits of monitored traffic tracked by Affswap

Affswap

Gibraltar’s marketing licence fee and the squeeze on UK gambling suppliers

How are changes to UKGC requirements and the wider pressures on UK gambling affecting your clients and your own business?

UKGC brands are feeling the pinch from regulatory changes, tax pressures and rising costs. Inevitably, clients turn to suppliers like us and ask for reductions. We understand why, but there comes a point where you have to question whether the work remains profitable when you are still expected to deliver the same level of service.

On top of that, the new Gibraltar marketing licence means we are facing an annual fee of nearly £50,000 just to continue operating. That is an annual cost, not a one-off payment.

“We are now effectively starting each year nearly £50,000 behind before paying a salary, the office rent or any other bills.”

Having spent four years building this business, we are now effectively starting each year nearly £50,000 behind before paying a salary, the office rent or any other bills. At a time when clients are asking us to charge less, that is a very difficult position to be put in.

Gibraltar talks about supporting small businesses, but from where I am sitting, this makes it harder to justify keeping the business here. You find yourself asking why you would not relocate somewhere with a more manageable cost base. We have people and jobs to think about, so these are decisions we have to take seriously.

For now, we keep pushing every day to grow IGA, look after our clients and keep our pricing as competitive as we possibly can while delivering an A+ service. But the business has to remain viable. Experience, good relationships and hard work only take you so far if the costs of operating keep moving against you.

Where UK-licensed operators can still grow affiliate revenue

Where do you still see opportunities for UKGC brands to build profitable affiliate programmes?

There are still opportunities, but operators need to understand which partnerships work for their particular brands.

I would rather have a smaller group of active affiliates sending relevant traffic than a long list of accounts contributing very little. There is value in properly managing those relationships, sharing useful feedback and working together on campaigns.

“I would rather have a smaller group of active affiliates sending relevant traffic than a long list of accounts contributing very little.”

Operators also need to look at their own proposition. An affiliate manager can open a conversation and secure exposure, but the brand still needs to give players a reason to register and stay. The welcome offer, website experience and ongoing customer proposition all affect the result.

The brands that communicate well, make timely decisions and understand their numbers give their affiliate managers a much better chance of succeeding.

Affswap: a contact-swap network for affiliate managers

What led you to build Affswap?

Initially, I built it for our own team of affiliate managers. I wanted a tool that would make it easier for them to find new affiliates and reach the right people.

Managers spend a lot of time finding websites, checking their traffic and trying to establish who to contact. Often, another manager already has that relationship, but they might be struggling to find a contact you have. It made sense to find a way of helping each other.

Once I started building the basic model, I thought, why not open this up to the wider industry? The idea grew into an iGaming SEO website ecosystem, where managers contribute contacts, discover sites and help the platform grow. If you use it properly and contribute, you can use it for free.

We currently have 618 websites listed, with combined monitored traffic of over 91 million. What started as an internal tool has become something that can help affiliate managers across the industry.

How does Affswap work in practice?

Managers mark websites they have a contact for and websites they want a contact for. When there is a match, they can arrange a swap and connect directly.

The platform also includes live SEO data, so managers can assess a website alongside looking for the contact. That helps them decide whether it is relevant to the brands and markets they manage before pursuing a conversation.

A contact is useful when it helps you start a relevant commercial discussion. Affswap makes that process quicker, with a swap credit system that encourages managers to contribute as well as benefit from the network.

The more people contribute, the more useful it becomes for everyone.

£3,500

Monthly fee at which IGA’s outsourced affiliate management starts

£2,500

One-month trial fee paid in advance before the standard monthly rate applies

£500,000

Monthly affiliate traffic spend of the larger brands IGA manages

£50,000

Annual cost of Gibraltar’s new marketing licence facing IGA

iGamingAffiliates.io

Where do you want to take Affswap?

Like anything new, it takes time for people to discover it and make it part of their routine. The tools are there, and managers can use them for free by contributing. Now it is about getting more people involved and showing them how much time they can save.

I’m confident that, in time, Affswap can become every affiliate manager’s go-to resource for finding new affiliates. Rather than spending hours researching websites and chasing contacts, they can find relevant sites, review the SEO data and connect with the right people in one place.

We will keep improving it, but the goal stays the same: save affiliate managers a huge amount of time sourcing affiliates, so they can spend more time building relationships and getting campaigns live.

iGamingRecruitment.io: hiring with consultants who have sat on the operator side

Finally, what is the story behind iGamingRecruitment.io?

Recruitment is something I have come back to. Years ago, I owned Ace Recruitment in Gibraltar, before leaving that business to focus on affiliation. With iGamingRecruitment.io, it has come full circle.

I wanted this agency to stand out by employing recruitment consultants who have worked internally in recruitment roles at tier-one iGaming brands. They have been on the other side of the process, working directly with hiring managers, so they understand what those managers want and need.

That experience makes a difference. They understand how recruitment decisions are made, what makes someone suitable beyond their CV and what it takes to get a candidate through the process and into a job.

We support employers with sourcing, screening and introducing candidates, then managing the process through to placement. Our fees start at 10% of the candidate’s first-year salary, with a 90-day free replacement guarantee, subject to our agreed terms.

The aim is to combine that internal recruitment experience with a straightforward, competitively priced service that helps businesses find the right people.

For more information, visit iGamingAffiliates.io, Affswap.com and iGamingRecruitment.io.