The affiliate marketing world has changed a lot over the last few years. It used to be simple: find a customer, get them to make their First Time Deposit (FTD), and move on to the next. Now it is a whole different process. It is a complex ecosystem driven by data, smart tech, absolute transparency, and most importantly long-term value.
To break down where the industry is heading, Affnook recently hosted a webinar titled “From Acquisition to Authentic Growth: Aligning Incentives & Combating Fraud in Modern Affiliate Ecosystems.” Hosted by Jeremy Castillo, Head of Sales at Affnook, the panel brought together two brilliant industry minds: Eduardo Figueiredo, Founder of MERA Gaming, and Stepan Potichnyi, Senior Sales Manager at AppCraft.
The entire conversation boiled down to one big question: How can the affiliate space move past short-term hustles and build growth that actually lasts?
What Does “Authentic Growth” Really Mean?
Historically, affiliate marketing was all about success through larger quantities. Meaning – when affiliate marketers had large quantities of traffic, larger amounts of clicks and larger amounts of first-time depositors (FTDs). Many of the brands that benefited from that explosive avenue of growth during the infancy of their businesses. The panel stated that the overabundance of convenience and ease of entry has created an environment where the current landscape of brands competing with each other has made it more difficult for them to sustain any form of growth or scale than it was years ago.
Eduardo said that authentic growth simply means that a brand’s growth will last or survive the test of time. Marketers need to stop pursuing their vanity metrics and look closer at the overall player experience to ensure they are focused on high-quality players, retention rate and lifetime value of that player.
Eduardo also commented on the fact that too many companies have not taken time to assess the value of the current players they have attracted. By doing so, they often have impressive acquisition results but long run results that produce less than satisfactory revenue due to the current players not having longevity.
Additionally, Stepan said that transparency is the foundation for this new era; they need to provide open and honest communication to their customers by having access to common data elements that provide both parties with a complete, accurate and objective perspective about the value of a player, the success of campaigns, and the validity of traffic sources.
The takeaway was clear: real, sustainable growth is built on strong partnerships, high-quality traffic, and shared goals, not just chasing a bigger acquisition spike.
Why We Need to Look Past the First Deposit
One of the most candid moments of the webinar focused on the industry’s unhealthy obsession with FTDs.
Don’t get it twisted—FTDs still matter. They are a great initial indicator of whether a campaign has legs. However, both speakers stressed that looking only at FTDs gives you an incomplete, and often misleading, picture of success.
Eduardo gave a great example: An affiliate could send you hundreds of FTDs every month. But if only a tiny fraction of those people keep playing, that campaign is actually losing you money. You’re spending a fortune upfront on acquisition, but seeing zero meaningful return down the line.
Instead, Eduardo argued that we need to start shining a spotlight on healthier metrics:
- Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) by cohort (tracking what specific groups of players spend over time)
- Player retention rates (how many people actually come back)
- Lifetime Value (LTV) (the total worth of a player over their entire journey)
- Long-term profitability by traffic source (knowing exactly which channels bring in the most loyal users)
These numbers tell you the real story: what happens after the initial deposit is made.
Stepan agreed, noting that operators are becoming way more selective about the traffic they buy. With a rise in bonus abuse, misleading ads, and low-quality incentivized traffic, you can’t just count heads anymore. You have to measure value.
Data: The Ultimate Secret Weapon
Another massive takeaway from the session was the shift toward data and predictive analytics. The affiliate space is entering a phase where understanding human behavior is just as critical as getting someone to click a link.
Thanks to breakthroughs in AI and smart tech, companies no longer have to guess. They can spot red flags early, predict a player’s long-term value, and pivot before a campaign turns into an expensive mistake.
Instead of playing defense—like reacting to fraud or terrible traffic after the money has already been spent—operators can use data to play offense, proactively catching risks and seizing new opportunities. In a complex market, the businesses that know how to read the data are the ones that will win.
The Danger of Disconnected Systems
Stepan brought up an incredibly relatable pain point: fragmented data.
Too many companies operate in silos. They use one tool for affiliate management, another for tracking, and completely separate systems for CRM, business intelligence, payments, and fraud detection. While each tool works fine on its own, they don’t talk to each other.
When your tech doesn’t communicate, your team is essentially making decisions in the dark. Think about how confusing this gets:
- The affiliate platform knows who sent the player.
- The tracking system knows where the ad lived.
- The CRM team sees how often the player logs in.
- The BI team calculates the overall profit margins.
- The finance team tracks the actual deposits and withdrawals.
But if nobody connects the dots, you miss the big picture. The panel emphasized that stitching these systems together is a game-changer for smarter decision-making, better campaign optimization, and stopping fraud in its tracks.
Fraud Prevention Isn’t a Blame Game
Fraud is still the elephant in the room for affiliate marketing.
The panel called out a frustrating cycle we see too often: operators blame the affiliates, affiliates blame the traffic sources, and tech providers blame everyone else. The speakers argued that this finger-pointing has to stop. Fraud prevention needs to be treated as a team sport.
“Operators ultimately own the business outcomes, so they need to lead the charge on security. But tech providers need to back them up with automated tools, and affiliate platforms need to keep communication wide open.” — Eduardo Figueiredo
Stepan added that timing is everything. Waiting until the end of the month to flag bad traffic is a recipe for ugly disputes and ruined relationships. The faster everyone shares suspicious signals, the easier it is to protect both your revenue and your partnerships.
Going European: Expanding Without Losing the Local Touch
As brands try to scale across Europe, they often run into a wall because they treat the continent as one giant, uniform market. In reality, Europe is a patchwork of totally different regulations, payment habits, player behaviors, and cultural nuances.
Stepan pointed out that hyper-localization is the real secret to international success. Brands that take the time to tailor their content, offers, and language to specific countries see much higher trust and conversion rates.
Eduardo agreed but kept it real about the costs: localization is incredibly expensive. Building local teams and learning the ins and outs of multiple different regions takes serious budget and effort, which can be tough for smaller operators. Success comes down to finding that sweet spot between a centralized strategy and local execution.
The Road Ahead
As the webinar wrapped up, both speakers landed on two words that will define the future of this industry: transparency and accountability.
We’ve reached a point where blind trust is gone. Operators need to know they are buying real, high-quality traffic. Affiliates need to know they will be tracked accurately and paid fairly. Building that trust requires honest communication, clearer boundaries, and shared responsibility from everyone involved.
Affiliate marketing isn’t just a numbers game anymore. It’s about creating real, lasting value for players, operators, and affiliates alike. As the market gets tighter and tech evolves, the companies that prioritize relationship-building, honesty, and quality over quick wins are the ones that will thrive.
At Affnook, we love driving these conversations, and we can’t wait to dive even deeper in our upcoming webinars and industry meetups. See you at the next one!
