Affiliate in Online Gambling
An affiliate is a website, publisher or marketer that sends players to a gambling operator and is paid a commission when those players sign up, deposit or go on to lose money. Most comparison sites, bonus pages and review portals read in Ireland work on this basis. The arrangement is commercial, and it shapes which brands a page shows and in what order. Knowing how the money flows tells you how much weight to give a recommendation, and why a link to a casino is rarely a neutral one.
How Affiliate Commission Is Calculated
The two common models are cost per acquisition (CPA), a one-off fixed fee for each qualifying new depositor, and revenue share, a percentage of the net gaming revenue the referred player generates for as long as they keep playing. Net gaming revenue is usually gross gaming revenue, meaning stakes minus winnings, less bonus costs, chargebacks and payment fees, though each contract defines its own deductions.
Industry sources put revenue share at roughly 25 to 45 per cent of net gaming revenue, but the rate, the qualifying deposit and the deductions vary between operators and there is no published standard.
Hybrid deals combine a smaller CPA with a lower percentage.
CPA Compared With Revenue Share
The two models reward an affiliate for different player behaviour, which is the part that matters to a reader.
CPA | Revenue share |
|---|---|
| Paid once per qualifying depositor | Paid monthly while the player plays |
| Earnings stop after the first deposit | Earnings grow as the player loses |
| Fixed fee agreed in advance | Percentage of net gaming revenue |
| Rewards volume of sign-ups | Rewards long-term player retention |
| Simple for the affiliate to verify | Depends on the operator's deductions |
Affiliates Under Irish Law
The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 places the advertising duties on the licensee, and section 145 covers a licensee who causes another person to advertise on its behalf, which is the position an affiliate occupies.
Sections 143 to 151 set out the advertising rules, but each applies only once a commencement order brings it into operation, so you should check the GRAI’s site for current status rather than assume it.
A link on a page is not proof of an Irish licence.
Where Readers Meet Affiliates
You meet an affiliate whenever a link carries a tracking code, a bonus is labelled exclusive, or a page ranks casinos without explaining its method. None of this makes the information wrong, though it does mean the page is paid by the brands it lists.
What I check first is whether the operator named is licensed by the GRAI, the MGA or another regulator, and whether that regulator’s own register confirms it, because an affiliate’s description of a licence carries no weight of its own.
