Affiliate Program Value Report 2019

2019 has just come to a close and it is time to issue our Affiliate Program Value Report for the year. This continues the series that was started in 2017.

All affiliate programs make claims to delivering the ‘best value’. They cannot all be right. In fact, by definition the vast majority have to be wrong. It is impossible for an affiliate to tell in advance which programs are going to deliver the best returns for them once you start to take into account the variables, including the program’s terms, the hidden fees that are built into all revenue calculation formulas, how successful any given site is at converting traffic to sign-ups and even how effective the program is in converting sign-ups to depositing players. Making the wrong choice can leave your business significantly shorted in terms of revenue.

In an effort to address this issue and provide other affiliates some guidance we have started publishing some basic information about the performance we have seen from the various programs that we work with each year, offering insight into the varying strengths and weaknesses of each program over a range of different criteria.

We are modifying the format of the report slightly this year. Alongside an annual report for 2019 we will also be publishing amalgamated reports for both 2018-19 and 2017-2019. These amalgamated reports will feature a smaller number of programs due to some programs that we previously worked with closing or ceasing to work with us, but the data for those programs that are covered is based on a larger sample size and as such we would consider it more reliable.

We will also be including a new criteria this year: Click Value. This criteria is exactly what it sounds like – we assess the average value of a click based on all of the programs we worked with, then compare each program’s individual Click Value against this site wide average figure to establish how the specific program compares with the general performance of the site.

We are going to break our stats down into 5 reports allowing us to show a ratio for each program and an average value for the site overall, so that the ratio for each program can be compared to the site wide average. In each case we are also going to provide a reliability figure to give an idea of which programs results are based on the largest sample size of data. It should be noted that the reliability figure is a proportionate figure compared to the highest total figure for that stat for this report and is applicable only to the figures within this report. The reliability figures are not transferable or comparable across the various Value Reports.

Within the following tables there are multiple amalgamated rows for groups that run a significant number of different programs (mostly white label networks). We have done this as the properties run by these groups are very similar in design and product offered and this gives a more general figure for the performance of a platform as a whole. These amalgamated figures are not a good indicator or performance in terms of Average Player Value as individual deals or lack thereof are likely to have an impact on this figure, preventing the platform as a whole from competing at a level equivalent to individual programs with bespoke deals.

Average Player Value

Below you’ll find a table ordering our partners by the Average Player Value (APV) they have delivered this year, how far above or below our site wide average the program is as a percentage and a Reliability figure. The Reliability figure is based on the number of New Depositing Players (NDPs) sent over 2019 and is on a 20 point scale. So a program with a Reliability of 20 will have received approximately 20x more NDPs than a program with a Reliability of 1.

It should be noted that of the four different stats, APV is the least informative as customised deals may have a significant impact on the results. Several of the programs rated highly DO offer us improved deals over their standard deals. A player value above the average could indicate a program making a good job of player retention, or it could simply indicate a program that offers us a better deal than the majority of their competitors.

Notable programs based on this data point are as follows:

• Trada Affiliates – An APV that is way above average and a high reliability score.
• WagerJoint – The reliability score is a little on the low side but as will be seen in the amalgamated reports the trend is consistent across larger data sets for this program and the APV is way above average.
• MT SecureTrade – The platform run by the owners of Guts casino, a very high reliability score across this platform and an APV that is notably above our site-wide average.
• AllBritish Affiliates – An APV that’s slightly above site average with a high Reliability figure.
• Betsson Affiliates – An APV that is slightly below the site-wide average and a reasonably Reliability figure.
• L&L Europe – The network of casinos run by the AllBritish group. The highest possible reliability figure for this criteria and an APV that is slightly below average.
• White Hat Gaming (Overall) – The highest possible reliability figure for this section and an APV notably below site average.

Casino Luck Affiliates – A program that received one of our Top Value Partner 2017 awards – sadly, for the second year in a row this program has clocked in significantly below our site-wide APV. The shift from EveryMatrix to Aspire Global seems to have reduced how much a referral is worth for us.

• Full Cream Affiliates – Reasonable Reliability figure and an APV that’s significantly below site average.
• Yeti Affiliates – A high Reliability score with an APV that is markedly below average.
• Aspire Global (Overall) – A high Reliability score with a significantly below average APV.
• Ivy Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a significantly below average APV.
• Genesis Affiliates – This program has been hit by a significant multi-accounting ring over a several month period which has both radically inflated their NDP count and depressed their revenue. We have tried to account for this in the ‘Genesis Adjusted’ table entry, but this only removes the erroneous NDPs and does not account for the revenue depression. A reasonable Reliability figure with a APV significantly below site wide average.

Sign-Up Efficiency

For this section we will be ordering the various programs by the ratio of clicks/sign-ups. This gives a figure for how many clicks a program requires to gain a customer’s details.

This stat is likely to directly correlate to how user friendly an operator’s web design and registration process is, with lower figures meaning that players are more likely to sign-up after clicking through and higher figures suggesting players finding the site unappealing or sign-up process off-putting.

Alongside this figure you will find a Reliability figure. Again the Reliability figure uses a 20 point scale, but this time the figure is based on the number of clicks a program has received. So a program with a Reliability figure of 20 has received approximately 20x more clicks than a program with a Reliability figure of 1.

Unlike APV, Sign-Up Efficiency is not subject to bespoke arrangements with the program, it is based solely on user behaviour once they have clicked through to the operator site. As such this is a far better direct comparator of the strength and “saleability” of an operator than APV.

Notable programs based on this data point are as follows:

• Yeti Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s way above average.
• Trada Affiliates – A high Reliability score combines with a conversion rate that is significantly better than average.
• WagerJoint – The reliability score is a little on the low side but as will be seen in the amalgamated reports the trend is consistent across larger data sets for this program and the Sign-Up Efficiency is way above average.
• AllBritish Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s significantly better than site average.
• Betsson Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s significantly better than site average.
• L&L Europe – A very high Reliability score combines with a conversion rate that’s notably above site average.
• White Hat Gaming – The highest possible Reliability score combines with a conversion rate that’s slightly above site average.
• Casino Luck Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s slightly above average.
• Full Cream Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s slightly above average.
• Aspire Global (Overall) – An high Reliability score with a sign-up efficiency that is fractionally above site average.
• Ivy Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s slightly short of average.
• Genesis Affiliates – A very high Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s slightly below average.
• MT SecureTrade – A very high Reliability score combines with a conversion rate that’s below site average.

Sign-up to NDP efficiency

For this section we will be ordering the various programs by the ratio of sign-ups/NDPs. This gives a figure for how many player registrations a program requires to obtain one depositing player.

This stat is likely to correlate strongly with how strong/effective the operator’s follow-up process after a player registers to encourage depositing is. These processes can range from nothing to onsite pop-up CTAs to Live Chat contacts or even email/sms/phone contacts from customer support reps. The more effective the strategies the operator puts in place to convert registrations into deposits the lower this figure should be.

Alongside this figure you will find a Reliability figure. Again the Reliability figure uses a 20 point scale, but this time the figure is based on number of sign-ups a program has received. So a program with a Reliability figure of 20 has received approximately 20x more sign-ups than a program with a Reliability figure of 1.

Unlike APV, Sign-Up to NDP efficiency is not subject to bespoke arrangements with the program, it is based solely on user behaviour once they have clicked through to the operator site. As such this is a far better direct comparator of the strength and “saleability” of an operator than APV.

Notable programs based on this data point are as follows:

• AllBritish Affiliates – Reasonable Reliability score with a significantly above average sign-up to depositing player conversion.
• L&L Europe – The strongest stat in terms of Reliability for this data point and a conversion rate that’s notably above average for the site.
• White Hat Gaming – Highest Reliability figure for this section with and a sign-up to depositing player ratio that is above average.
• Casino Luck Affilitates – Reasonable Reliability figure with a sign-up to depositing player ratio that is significantly above average.
• Full Cream Affiliates – A high Reliability score with a fractionally above average sign-ups to deposits ratio.
• Aspire Global (Overall) – A high Reliability score with notably above average sign-up to deposit conversion.
• Ivy Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s significantly above average.
• Genesis Affiliates – A high Reliability score with significantly above average sign-up to deposit conversion.
• Yeti Affiliates – A high Reliability score with above average sign-up to deposit conversion.
• Trada Affiliates – High Reliability figure with a sign-up to depositing player ratio that is below average.
• WagerJoint – A reasonable Reliability score and a sign-up to depositing player conversion rate that is significantly below site average.
• MT SecureTrade – A high Reliability score and a sign-up to depositing player conversion rate that is notably below site average.

Overall Conversion Efficiency

For this section we will be ordering the various programs by the ratio of clicks/NDPs. This gives a figure for how many clicks a program requires to gain a NDP.

This stat combines both the previous stats giving an overview of how effectively the operator’s converting clicks to deposits. While the previous two stats are likely more valuable to affiliate programs to help them identify where improvements can be made, this stat is likely to be more useful for affiliates to identify which programs are most effectively using the traffic that has been sent.

Alongside this figure you will find a Reliability figure. Again the Reliability figure uses a 20 point scale, but this time the figure is based on the number of clicks a program has received. So a program with a Reliability figure of 20 has received approximately 20x more clicks than a program with a Reliability figure of 1.

Unlike APV, Overall Conversion Efficiency is not subject to bespoke arrangements with the program, it is based solely on user behaviour once they have clicked through to the operator site. As such this is a far better direct comparator of the strength and “saleability” of an operator than APV.

Notable programs based on this data point are as follows:

• Trada Affiliates – A high Reliability score combines with a conversion rate that is slightly better than site average.
• AllBritish Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that is significantly above site average.
• L&L Europe – A very high Reliability score in this data set with a conversion rate that’s significantly above average.
• White Hat Gaming – A very high Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s above site average.
• Casino Luck Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that is above site average.
• Full Cream Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that is fractionally above site average.
• Yeti Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s significantly better than average.
• Aspire Global (Overall) – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s above average.
• Ivy Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s above average.
• Genesis Affiliates – A high Reliability score with a conversion rate that is above site average.
• Wagerjoint – Reliability is a little low but the trend is in line with longer term figures and conversion is slightly above average.
• MT SecureTrade – A high Reliability score with a conversion rate that’s significantly below average.

Click Value

For this section we will be ordering the various programs by the value they deliver per click received.

Click value is likely the most useful stat for affiliates looking to determine which programs are paying the most for your traffic as it takes into consideration both the value that is returned for each player alongside how many clicks it takes the program to convert a player. Readers should be aware that this figure is going to be subject bias via bespoke deals, but is more stable than APV due to clicks remaining constant regardless of the revenue deal on offer.

Alongside this figure you will find a Reliability figure. Again the Reliability figure uses a 20 point scale, but this time the figure is based on the number of clicks a program has received. So a program with a Reliability figure of 20 has received approximately 20x more clicks than a program with a Reliability figure of 1.

Notable programs based on this data point are as follows:

• Trada Affiliates – A high Reliability score combines with a Click Value that is way better than site average.
• WagerJoint – The reliability score is a little on the low side but as will be seen in the amalgamated reports the trend is consistent across larger data sets for this program and the Click Value is way above average.
• AllBritish Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a Click Value that is significantly above site average.
• L&L Europe – A very high Reliability score in this data set with a Click Value that’s above average.
• White Hat Gaming – A very high Reliability score with a Click Value that’s below site average.
• Casino Luck Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a Click Value that is below site average.
• Full Cream Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a Click Value that is significantly below site average.
• Yeti Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a Click Value that’s below average.
• Aspire Global (Overall) – A high Reliability score with a Click Value that’s significantly below average.
• Ivy Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a Click Value that’s significantly below average.
• Genesis Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a Click Value that is way below site average.
• Betsson Affiliates – A reasonable Reliability score with a Click Value that’s below average.
• MT SecureTrade – A high Reliability score with a Click Value that’s significantly below average.

Conclusion

Firstly, of the two reports published in conjunction, this report is likely more valuable in indicating the most recent performance of a program. Where a program has made significant changes recently this will be the more useful report. The 2017-18 Report which is based on a large data set is more useful in terms of drawing stronger conclusions about the performance of programs.

So now to review the conclusions that can be drawn from this report. To help easily assess the performance of the various ‘higher reliability’ level programs we’ve put together a traffic lighted table which can be seen below:

Firstly the good:

• AllBritish Affiliates – The only program to return above average results in every single category, AllBritish Affiliates are the stand out stars of this year’s report. They are converting clicks to sign-ups well and continuing the trend in sign-ups to NDPs. To cap it all off they are them providing a high player value on top of great conversion.
• L&L Europe – While there is some variance from property to property the sum total performance across all program on the L&L Europe platform is exemplary. This is a group that knows what they are doing with traffic and is efficiently converting clicks to players.
• Trada Affiliates – Over 2019 Trada Affiliates have delivered way above Average Player Value and are performing well at converting clicks to sign-ups. Their conversion from sign-up to depositing players is could use a little improvement but overall Trada Affiliates are delivering excellent value for each click delivered.
• WagerJoint Affiliates – Another repeat winner. WagerJoint Affiliates are delivering exceptional Average Player Value and are performing well at converting clicks to sign-ups. Their conversion from sign-up to depositing players could use some work. WagerJoint Affiliates now qualify for our Top Value Partner 2018 badge.
• White Hat Gaming – It would be easy to overlook the White Hat Gaming platform in this report. Their poor performance in the Average Player Value/Click Value categories could be mis-leading. As this is an amalgamated state for all WHG programs we work with – many of which we have not negotiated any improved revenue arrangements with – these stats are artificially depressed though. The important stats for assessing the platform as a whole are the conversion stats, each of which is above average when compared to the market as a whole. That means that this platform is more effective at converting clicks to players than most operators and you just need to negotiate yourself a favourable revenue deal to benefit from the above average conversion.
• Aspire Global – Aspire Global have exactly the same issue as White Hat Gaming. Their poor performance in the Average Player Value/Click Value categories could be mis-leading. As this is an amalgamated state for all Aspire Global programs we work with – many of which we have not negotiated any improved revenue arrangements with – these stats are artificially depressed though. The important stats for assessing the platform as a whole are the conversion stats, each of which is above average when compared to the market as a whole. That means that this platform is more effective at converting clicks to players than most operators and you just need to negotiate yourself a favourable revenue deal to benefit from the above average conversion.
• Genesis Affiliates – The APV for this program has been significantly below our site average but without a bespoke deal in place this program are operating with a significant handicap in this performance indicator. Looking at the three other indicators however we can see that they are preforming slightly above average when converting clicks to sign-ups and above average when it comes to converting those sign-ups to NDPs. Genesis Affiliates now qualify for our Top Value Partner 2018 badge.

Now on to some areas that could be improved by various operators:

• MT SecureTrade – We will set aside the APV stat (given the amalgamation of programs, the majority of which we will not have bespoke deals with, platforms as a whole are generally disadvantaged in reaching our site average). Overall this platform seems to be struggling to convert clicks to sign-up and sign-ups to NDPs. This strongly suggests that site designs need to be reviewed with a Conversion Rate Optimisation focus, that registration processes should be streamlined and that post registration engagement strategies could use improvement.

It should be noted that the figures for this report were gathered on the 31th of December, meaning that the year’s figures could be up to a couple of days short. This isn’t a large enough omission that we feel it would make any significant difference to the results and as all programs were reviewed at approximately the same time, the impact is the same on everyone.

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