Affiliate marketing FAQ
The 12 questions we are asked most, answered in a paragraph each. Where an answer needs more than a paragraph, it links to the guide that gives it.
How much can a new iGaming affiliate realistically earn in the first year?
Most new sites earn nothing for the first six months and a two- or three-figure monthly amount by month twelve, if they publish consistently and get approved by real programs. The people showing five-figure screenshots have either been at it for years or are selling you a course. Treat year one as paying for itself, not as income.
How long until a new affiliate site sees its first commission?
Realistically six to twelve months. A new domain has to be crawled, indexed and then rank for something a real person searches, and that alone is usually three to six months. After that you need enough clicks for one of them to become a depositing player. Sites run by people who had done it before still took longer than that.
Do I need a registered company to be an affiliate?
Not always to apply, but almost always to get paid. Most programs pay against an invoice and need a legal entity, a tax number and a bank account in a matching name. A sole trader registration is usually enough to start. Check your own country's rules first, and ask the program which entity types they accept.
Is revenue share or CPA the better deal?
It depends on your traffic quality and your cash needs. CPA pays a fixed amount per depositing player, so it is predictable and suits you when cash matters now or your players do not stay long. Revshare pays a percentage of net revenue for as long as the player is active, and wins on good traffic over a year or more.
What is negative carryover and why does everyone warn about it?
It means a month where the operator loses money against your players carries the deficit into your next month, so you earn nothing until the balance turns positive again. One large winner can wipe out several months of commission. Programs without negative carryover reset the balance monthly, so always ask which applies before you sign.
Why was my affiliate application rejected?
Usually because the site was empty, the traffic source was unclear, the market was not one the operator is licensed in, or the application looked automated. Program managers check whether your site exists, is in a language they serve, and looks likely to send real players. Fix those three things, explain your traffic honestly, and reapply.
Do I need a gambling licence to work as an affiliate?
In most markets no, but there are exceptions. Some jurisdictions require affiliates to register or hold a permit, and several regulators hold the operator responsible for what its affiliates publish, which means the operator will police you closely. Check the rules of every market you target before you publish, because ignorance is not a defence.
Is affiliate marketing dead now that AI answers most questions?
No, but the easy part is. AI answers now handle the simple definitional questions that used to send traffic, so thin explainer pages have lost their audience. What still earns a click is content with first-hand experience, real numbers, and a decision the reader actually has to make. That is harder to write and harder to automate.
How many articles do I need before applying to programs?
There is no fixed number, but a site with fewer than ten substantial pages and no traffic will be rejected by most established programs. Aim for something that reads as a finished publication: a clear market, real reviews, working navigation and legal pages. Ten to twenty good pages beats fifty thin ones every time.
What is a sub-affiliate program, and why do you run one?
It is a referral tier. You refer another affiliate to a program and earn a small percentage of their commission for as long as they stay active, typically between two and ten percent. It costs the referred affiliate nothing, because their own rate is unchanged. That is exactly how this site is funded, and we say so on every page.
Do I have to pay tax on affiliate commission?
Yes. Affiliate commission is business income in every jurisdiction we have dealt with, and most programs pay gross with no withholding, so declaring it is entirely your responsibility. Keep every remittance advice and self-billing invoice. Cross-border VAT treatment varies, so take local advice once the income is real rather than guessing.
Can I run paid ads on gambling offers?
Sometimes, and it is the fastest way to get into trouble. Most ad platforms require gambling certification per country, most programs forbid bidding on their own brand terms, and several regulated markets restrict affiliate advertising outright. Read the program terms and the platform policy before spending anything, and never assume one market's rules travel.
Where to go next
If a term in an answer above was new to you, the affiliate glossary defines sixty of them in plain English — NGR, FTD, carryover, postback, subID and the rest. For the long version of any answer, start at the guide hub: the getting-started track covers the first ninety days, programs and deals covers the contract, and compliance and money covers the rules and the invoicing.
To see the arithmetic behind the earnings answers rather than take our word for it, run your own figures through the traffic to revenue estimator or the commission calculator.