In an increasingly competitive affiliate landscape, data is becoming the defining factor for growth for many SME affiliate entrepreneurs.
The iGaming affiliate space has never been more challenging.
As markets mature and competition intensifies, affiliates who fail to harness the power of data and BI in their businesses – risk being left behind in the crowd. To understand how affiliates can gain an edge, we spoke with Routy founders Haim Bell and Michael Filletti at the recent IGB Affiliate Barcelona event – about the challenges affiliates in the iGaming sector face and how Routy is working to solve them.
It started with us discussing the current industry challenge which poses two problems: a lack of transparent data and a lack of consistent data being shared between operators and their affiliates.
The Growing Need for proper business intelligence in iGaming Affiliation
Affiliate marketing has evolved beyond just driving traffic and hoping for conversions.
Today, success is deeply tied to understanding where data intelligence can be harnessed for micro improvements in each segment of your acquisition campaigns – to maximise profit.
As one affiliate we spoke to at the IGB Affiliate Conference in Barcelona said: “If you’re a new affiliate and plan on getting into this market, just don’t bother—you have no chance if you can’t get access to data that tells you where to focus your efforts and your budget.”
But this intense competition also signals an opportunity.
Affiliates who can truly leverage data to optimize their business will outperform their peers and stay ahead of the curve.
“For years, data transparency has been fragmented in iGaming affiliate programs” said Michael, “and many affiliates considered it too much hassle to extract and analyze meaningful insights or simply don’t have the resources and man hours to invest in this alongside everything else they are doing in their day jobs”
However, as profit margins tighten and markets become more saturated, affiliates now recognize they are leaving money on the table by not investing in data intelligence tools and are now realizing it is essential for survival and growth in an overly competitive and regulated landscape.
The Pain Points of Operator Data Dashboards
Most affiliates rely on operator-provided dashboards to track their earnings and performance but often don’t get real time granular data out of these platforms to enable them to optimize their campaigns and traffic sources in real time.
These systems present major challenges to affiliates such as:
- Time-consuming manual processes: Logging into multiple dashboards, extracting data, and manually compiling reports can take hours every week.
- Lack of standardization: Even basic metrics like clicks vary across operators—some count total clicks, others count unique clicks, and filtering for bot traffic differs widely.
- Inconsistent and changing data: Operator adjustments often change stats post-month-end, creating discrepancies between reports.
- Limited insights: Many dashboards function like bank statements—showing overall revenue but failing to provide granular insights into traffic sources, player behavior, and funnel performance.
- Postbacks or custom Webhooks – just aren’t available in the tech stack the operators provide affiliates with to track their customer activity.
This lack of consistency and transparency makes it difficult for affiliates to optimize campaigns effectively maximising their budgets and enabling them to scale.
Custom support and unparalleled features
Recognising these pain points, Routy was created to help affiliates centralise and optimise their data. Co-founder Michael Filletti recalled his first interaction with the platform: “I remember when I first started playing with Routy, I found a report with a ridiculous amount of data points and said, ‘I wish I had that when I was at my previous company’”
Routy seamlessly integrates with affiliate setups to collect, organize, and analyze data, offering actionable insights that help affiliates:
- Save time by automating data collection from multiple operators.
- Identify top-performing brands and campaigns with real-time performance tracking.
- Gain a competitive edge by leveraging deeper insights into commission structures, traffic quality, and conversion rates.
As Haim Bell explains, “We want to be a reason for affiliates to become more data-driven, and we believe this is possible by providing them with intelligent data. That’s why we built a super fast re-direct, on average 0.3 milliseconds so that data is passed back faster than any WP plugin and our tracking enables extended metadata extraction giving affiliates information such as device and GEO location automatically”
The road ahead
The volatility of the iGaming industry presents both challenges and opportunities for affiliates looking to scale in 2025. Here are key factors influencing growth:
- SEO & Paid Media Disruptions: Algorithm updates and changing advertising policies make traffic volumes unpredictable.
- RevShare Dependence: More affiliates are relying on revshare models, making revenue optimization crucial.
- Rising Competition: Finding a unique edge through data-driven decision-making is now a necessity.
Routy enables affiliates to navigate these challenges by optimizing their revenue streams, diversifying traffic sources, and maximizing profits during peak periods.
Pro Tips for Affiliates Looking to Scale
Want to gain momentum and increase profits this year?
Here are Routy’s top recommendations:
- Diversify your traffic sources – Don’t rely on a single method; explore paid media, email marketing, and alternative channels.
- Leverage data automation – Stop extracting data manually and start optimizing with real-time insights.
- Choose transparent brands – Work with operators that provide clear, standardized performance data.
- Embrace AI-powered decision-making – Machine learning thrives on data, and affiliates who collect and analyze more of their own data will make better strategic choices in the long run!
As the saying goes, “without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.
For affiliates ready to scale smarter now is a good time to explore everything Routy has to offer!
