MakeMoney TEAM is back with a new portion of valuable information for both beginners and more experienced webmasters who may not yet know all the intricacies of the gambling market. Today we have a very important topic – we’ll talk about the risks associated with running RevShare campaigns for casino offers. We’ll explain in which cases it’s better to work with pay-per-action (CPA) payments and when it makes sense to test RevShare.
Editor’s Note: You can read more about what RevShare is in this article.
In gambling, two models are commonly used: CPA and RevShare. They are fundamentally different, so it’s important for newcomers to understand the difference and make the right choice when driving traffic.
CPA is a payment model where a webmaster receives a fixed payout for each qualified lead. Advertisers typically set conditions based on KYC, the first deposit, and less frequently, on making the n-th payment.
Gambling brands are interested in a steady stream of players ready to spend money in the casino. Therefore, if a webmaster can provide the required traffic volumes, they will earn on an ongoing basis.
RevShare is a payment model where a webmaster receives a percentage of the advertiser’s profit. The casino’s profit occurs when a player loses. For example, if a new customer deposits $500 and loses them, then the advertiser and webmaster will receive their earnings.
In some casinos, you may come across the CPL model, which is usually associated with a successful registration. This model can also be profitable, but more often, webmasters work with CPA or RevShare. The Hybrid model is less common, but it’s a separate topic.
The CPA format of interaction is advantageous because it provides webmasters with a stable profit if they consistently attract financially capable players to the casino. In this case, there is no connection to player losses, as long as most leads meet the qualification criteria.
When working with CPA, there are several KPIs and hidden parameters by which advertisers evaluate traffic. Often in public forums appear the anti-cases when a webmaster has his payments cut or is forcibly switched to RevShare. That’s why newcomers should be critical of any offer conditions and the assurances of the affiliate network that payouts will be stable.
Example of KPI
Another important factor is the lack of control on the webmaster’s side. He receives numbers from the affiliate network and cannot verify information regarding deposits, winning percentages, and other crucial metrics. Dishonest advertisers readily exploit this situation.
Nobody is claiming that every case automatically results in losses, but there are also many risks associated with working on a CPA basis. RevShare has its downsides as well, and it’s not as rosy as the numbers presented in public cases may suggest.
Experienced webmasters often mention that RevShare is the perfect choice for solo webmasters, while teams can’t grow exponentially when all the traffic goes to RevShare.
RevShare can indeed yield profits many times greater than CPA in the long run, but it all depends on the specific case. A webmaster needs to choose the model with a clear understanding of the situation and an analysis of the reliability of the specific brand.
Pitfalls:
- Long payback period. Imagine a webmaster buying traffic for $5 000 and only managing to generate $500 in revenue over two months. Due to extended losses, the campaign may take months to break even or might not do so at all.
- Cuts. Often, partners cut payouts when traffic doesn’t meet KPIs, but they can also do so for unfounded reasons.
- Changing terms. At the start of the development of new gambling brands, advertisers offer high RevShare rates, but then reduce them by 50% or more.
- Shave. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to protect yourself from shaving. You can only track it through indirect signs: a sudden decrease in players, the disappearance of active customers with good wins.
- Weak retention. Some brands lack infrastructure for “pushing” customers towards making deposits and providing consistent wins. As a result, the webmaster brings in high-quality traffic but ends up with nothing.
Despite the fact that the CPA market is no longer what it was in the 2010s, the interaction between affiliate networks and solo webmasters still relies solely on trust. All commitments are recorded indirectly and verbally. And the service offer states that the agreement can be changed without prior notice.
Often in chats and media appear the anti-cases where an affiliate network or advertiser cuts payments by several thousand dollars. Some of them get resolved with a happy ending through media publicity, but this method is not foolproof.
For example, in 2021, the well-known casino streamer Vitus was fined $100 000 for negative comments about an affiliate network. During their entire partnership, he earned over $2,8 million from it but left $1,23 million (or 43%) in the casino. This interaction turned out to be unprofitable for him.
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Checklist for choosing an advertiser
In the webmaster’s work, there are many pitfalls, but there are no similar markets in the world with the opportunity for rapid scaling and traffic acquisition on credit. We don’t encourage first billing, but it’s a part of the niche.
The choice between CPA and RevShare should be based on a thorough analysis of the situation. For example, if the product is new and the advertiser promises a 90% commission from his profit, such conditions are unlikely to work for long.
What to pay attention to:
- the reputation of the advertiser in the market: duration of operation, scale, feedback from webmasters;
- the product’s level of media presence: recognition, quality, uniqueness;
- the presence of a retention department;
- standard perks for players: bonuses, free spins, VIP levels;
- payout speed;
- availability of convenient verification;
- market regulation.
RevShare is loved for its stable income that continues to flow even after advertising campaigns stop. However, the webmaster shouldn’t rely on the honesty of the advertiser and should carefully choose his work partners.
Write in the chat how successful you are with RevShare in gambling and other verticals. And also subscribe to our Telegram blog. We often share life hacks that will help you enhance your traffic acquisition efforts.
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