One of the most important aspects for a beginner traffic arbitrage betting specialist is choosing the vertical they plan to work with. Each vertical has its own characteristics, so it's essential for the specialist to study them as thoroughly as possible before making a final decision. In this article, we will discuss betting — one of the most popular verticals today.
What Is Betting
Betting (from the English word "bet") is a vertical related to promoting sports betting. In betting affiliate programs, the advertisers are usually bookmakers or providers of sports predictions.
A traffic arbitrage specialist promotes betting offers in exchange for a reward. A player places a bet with a bookmaker on the outcome of a large-scale sports or other event. The bookmaker sets the odds of winning. If the player wins, they receive a payout exceeding their original bet. If the bookmaker wins, they keep the bet. Payment terms depend on the type of offer, the chosen affiliate network, and the arbitrage specialist's experience.
Differences Between Betting and Gambling
Gambling is a vertical related to online games of chance, whereas sports betting focuses on wagers on sports, esports, and other large-scale events. In some cases, gambling and betting are combined into a single vertical, but it's important to consider the differences between them.
Licensing
Most bookmakers hold licenses to operate, as sports betting is legal in many GEOs. Gambling, on the other hand, is prohibited in many countries around the world. This restricts the free placement of ads on popular traffic sources and complicates the work of affiliates.
Approaches
Gambling creatives are characterized by vivid emotions from winning, success stories from celebrities and ordinary people, and news-style presentations. In betting, creatives most often feature well-known athletes, sporting events, or successful tipsters.
Seasonality
Gamblers are consistently interested in gambling offers and may play at online casinos daily. In betting, audience interest peaks during major sporting events that occur at specific times. This is why betting revenue can be less stable compared to gambling.
This is not only related to conversion regularity but also to the payment models used in these verticals. Betting usually relies on a Revenue Share model, while gambling also frequently uses CPL and Hybrid offers. This allows arbitrage specialists to diversify their risks.
Types of Betting Offers
You can place bets on:
- Sports championships (football, baseball, boxing, basketball, cricket, hockey, tennis, Olympic Games);
- Esports competitions (Dota 2, League of Legends, etc.);
- Global events (for example, election outcomes).
What Can You Promote in Betting
The types of betting offers that can be promoted are quite diverse:
- First Deposit Bonuses — bonuses or free bets given after a user makes their first deposit into a bookmaker account.
- Free Bets — offers that allow users to place a bet without the risk of losing money. Typically, these bets are limited in amount and turnover.
- Referral Programs — incentives for users to bring new clients to the bookmaker through unique links or codes.
- Activity Bonuses — bonuses or free bets awarded for user activity, such as daily betting or participation in promotional campaigns.
- Loyalty Bonuses — special privileges for regular customers of a bookmaker.
- Guaranteed Wins — offers that promise a win or a refund of the stake in case of certain event outcomes.
- Cashback — returns a portion of the money spent by users as cash or bonus rewards.
How to Create Creative Ads for Betting Offers
The more you promote betting promotions, the more approaches and ideas for creating creatives you will notice. Here, we will discuss the key aspects of creating creatives for this vertical:
- Use well-known names. Regardless of the sport, you need to be familiar with top-level players. Photos of athletes before important matches or team comparisons can help create effective creatives.
- Highlight winning opportunities and bonuses. Players are always looking for ways to gain extra profit or first-deposit bonuses. Make sure to feature this in your creatives.
- Create the impression of a personal experience. Engage players by asking questions or providing information that makes them feel like experts.
- Share success stories. Show how people win large amounts through betting — this helps motivate your target audience to take action.
- Design attractive creatives. Use high-quality images that catch your target audience’s attention, and consider the language of the chosen GEO. It's important to test multiple creative variants and analyze betting conversion rates across them.
Popular Traffic Sources in Betting
Among traffic sources in betting, the most popular are:
- Search engines (SEO). A large portion of traffic comes from search engines when users look for information about bets, strategies, or bookmakers.
- Online advertising (PPC). Betting campaigns in Google Ads or other networks can help drive traffic through paid ads.
- Social media. Advertising on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, or Twitter can be an effective way to attract attention to betting. This is a key channel in sports affiliate marketing, allowing affiliates to reach highly targeted audiences.
- Content marketing. Creating engaging and useful content, such as articles, blogs, videos, or infographics, can attract organic traffic by providing valuable information to players.
- Email. Sending promotional offers and discount codes can also bring traffic from subscribers.
- Push notifications. Browser or mobile app notifications featuring ads or promotions that appear on a user’s desktop or smartphone home screen.
Betting Audience Characteristics
In betting, the audience is predominantly male. Women make up less than 10% of the total number of active users. As for age, the range is very wide, from 18 to 45 years old, although the target audience can include older players as well.
The core of players consists of middle-aged individuals who are willing to take risks for entertainment. Most often, these are married people with a complete secondary education or even higher education. They typically work as specialists or regular office employees.
The largest number of bets is placed on football, followed by hockey and basketball, and then tennis.
Popular Betting Affiliate Programs
Popular sports betting affiliate programs operating in the betting vertical include:
- PIN-UP Partners
- Bet365 Affiliates
- BETSSON AB
- MyLead
You can also check out our ranking of betting affiliate programs.
These companies allow affiliates to earn by effectively driving traffic and expanding the audience for betting companies.
Earnings Potential in Betting
Even beginners in traffic arbitrage can quickly and easily earn from $100 per day in betting. A partner’s earnings depend on factors such as the type of offer, the stake, the payment model, and the traffic source.
It’s especially easy to make money on bets during major sporting events. Don’t limit your potential audience — test multiple approaches and use a variety of creatives, and success is guaranteed!
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