How iGaming Offers Work in Arbitrage: Key Metrics and Payment Models

That’s arbitrage in its simplest form. In online gambling, affiliates do this with website traffic. They buy cheap advertising clicks and earn commissions when those visitors sign up at online casinos or betting sites.

The math is straightforward: Profit = Commissions Earned – Traffic Costs.

Here’s why iGaming works so well for this. Unlike someone who buys a t-shirt once and disappears, gamblers return repeatedly. They play week after week, month after month. A single player you refer might generate $500 to $1,000 in lifetime affiliate commissions. Some high-value players pay out even more.

This high player value means you can afford to pay meaningful amounts for advertising while still profiting. Spend $500 on Facebook ads, refer 20 depositing players, earn $2,000 in commissions. Your profit? $1,500, or a 300% return on investment.

But not every campaign works this cleanly. Success depends on understanding how operators pay you, which performance metrics actually matter, and where your traffic costs sit relative to your earnings. Get these wrong, and you’ll burn through budgets fast. Get them right, and the returns can be substantial.

So let’s break down exactly how the money flows and what numbers determine whether you profit or lose.

How Affiliates Get Paid: The Four Payment Models

Gambling operators compensate affiliates through four main structures. Each has different risk levels and earning potential.

CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

CPA means you get a one-time fixed payment when someone you refer makes their first deposit. The amount depends heavily on geography:

• Tier 1 markets (US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia): $200-$500 per player
• Tier 2 markets (Brazil, Turkey, Eastern Europe): $50-$150 per player
• Tier 3 markets (India, Indonesia, Africa): $20-$75 per player

The appeal is immediate. Refer 10 players in the US at $300 each, and you’ve earned $3,000. You know exactly what you’ll make per conversion, which helps with campaign planning.

But there’s a catch. Once you’re paid, that’s it. If your player becomes a whale who deposits $50,000 over the next year, you don’t see another cent.

RevShare (Revenue Share)

RevShare pays you a percentage of what the casino actually earns from your players, month after month, for as long as they keep playing. Rates typically start at 25-35% for new affiliates and can climb to 40-50% for high performers.

Here’s where things get tricky. You’re not getting a percentage of what players bet. You’re getting a percentage of net gaming revenue (NGR). That’s gross gaming revenue (total bets minus winnings) after the operator deducts bonuses, taxes, licensing fees, and payment processing costs.

A player bets $1,000 and wins $600. That’s $400 gross gaming revenue. Now subtract a $100 welcome bonus, $75 in taxes, $50 in fees. You’re left with $175 NGR. Your “30% RevShare” pays you $52.50, not the $120 you might have expected.

RevShare also involves negative balance policies. When players win big, your monthly earnings can go negative. Some programs carry those losses forward to future months. Others reset to zero monthly but offer lower base rates.

Hybrid Models

Hybrid deals combine both approaches: a smaller upfront CPA plus ongoing RevShare. A typical structure might be $50 per deposit plus 25% RevShare.

This splits the risk. You get immediate cash flow to reinvest in traffic while keeping some long-term upside. Both affiliates and operators prefer this middle ground.

CPL (Cost Per Lead)

CPL pays $5-$15 simply for registrations, whether players deposit or not. Some premium markets pay up to €40 per lead. This works if your traffic converts to signups but struggles with deposits.

The Numbers That Matter: Key Performance Metrics

Running profitable arbitrage means tracking the right numbers. These five metrics tell you whether your campaigns make or lose money.

EPC (Earnings Per Click)

This measures how much revenue each click generates on average. The formula is simple: Total Commissions ÷ Total Clicks.

If you earn $500 from 2,000 clicks, your EPC is $0.25. This number must exceed what you pay per click (CPC) for a campaign to profit. If your EPC is $0.25 but you’re paying $0.40 per click, you’re losing $0.15 on every visitor.

Most affiliate networks show their own EPC as a benchmark. But your actual EPC depends on your traffic quality. Someone buying cheap pop-under traffic will see lower EPC than someone running targeted Facebook ads.

Conversion Rate (CR)

This tracks what percentage of your visitors complete the desired action. In iGaming, that usually means first-time deposits (FTD).

Conversion rates vary significantly by traffic source and quality. Paid advertising traffic typically converts differently than organic search traffic, with quality thresholds determining whether campaigns remain profitable. The ratio of registrations to actual deposits (FTD rate) serves as a key quality indicator.

ROI (Return on Investment)

ROI shows your overall campaign profitability: [(Commissions Earned – Traffic Costs) ÷ Traffic Costs] × 100%

A documented Brazil campaign spent $1,400 and earned $4,198. That’s $2,798 profit on $1,400 invested, which equals 200% ROI. You tripled your money.

Well-optimized campaigns typically achieve positive returns, with top performers reaching significantly higher multiples. Anything below break-even means you’re probably doing something wrong.

LTV (Lifetime Value)

LTV estimates the total revenue a player generates over their entire gambling career. This matters most for RevShare decisions.

Player values vary considerably based on demographics and gambling behavior. High-value VIP players can generate substantially more than casual players. If you’re on a RevShare deal earning 30% of NGR, player lifetime value directly determines your long-term earnings over 12-18 months.

Lower LTV makes CPA more attractive. Higher LTV favors RevShare or hybrid deals.

NGR (Net Gaming Revenue)

NGR is what operators actually earn after all deductions. The calculation flows like this:

NGR = Gross Gaming Revenue – Bonuses – Taxes – Licensing Fees – Payment Processing

Understanding NGR matters because RevShare percentages apply to NGR, not gross revenue. Here’s a real example:

That 30% RevShare didn’t pay you $120 (30% of $400). It paid $52.50 (30% of $175). This is why RevShare deals often disappoint affiliates who don’t understand the deduction structure.

Sample Campaign Math

Here’s how these metrics work together in a real campaign:

• Traffic source: Push notifications
• Clicks purchased: 1,000 at $0.50 each = $500 spent
• Conversion rate: 2% = 20 depositing players
• Payment model: $100 CPA per player
• Revenue earned: 20 × $100 = $2,000
• Profit: $2,000 – $500 = $1,500
• ROI: ($1,500 ÷ $500) × 100% = 300%
• EPC: $2,000 ÷ 1,000 = $2.00

With EPC at $2.00 and CPC at $0.50, this campaign is highly profitable. That’s the sweet spot you’re looking for.

Making It Work: Traffic Sources and Real Campaign Results

Successful arbitrage starts with knowing where to buy traffic and what those clicks actually cost.

Where Affiliates Buy Traffic

Different advertising platforms offer varying price points and restrictions:

Push notification networks (RichAds, PropellerAds, Adsterra)

• Cost: Starting from $0.005 per click
• Why they work: Gambling-friendly policies, no creative restrictions
• Best for: Beginners with limited budgets

Pop traffic (pop-unders and pop-ups)

• Cost: Around $0.50 per thousand impressions (CPM)
• Why they work: Extremely cheap volume, minimal setup required
• Trade-off: Variable quality, requires extensive testing

Native advertising (Taboola, Outbrain, MGID)

• Cost: Approximately $0.30 per click
• Why they work: Content-style ads blend with publisher sites
• Best for: Better quality traffic with higher conversion potential

Social media platforms

• Cost: $0.50-$2.00 per click in Tier 1 countries
• Challenge: Strict gambling policies, frequent account restrictions
• Reality: Many affiliates now avoid due to compliance complexity

Rather than sending traffic directly to casino sites, successful affiliates use “pre-landers.” These are intermediate landing pages that explain bonuses, showcase games, or share testimonials before redirecting visitors to the operator. This extra step warms up cold traffic and typically improves conversion rates by 30-50%.

Real Campaign Examples

Documented case studies show what’s actually possible:

A Brazil popunder campaign ran for 14 days using mobile pop traffic. The affiliate spent approximately $1,400 and generated $4,198 in revenue, delivering 197% ROI. The campaign targeted mainstream traffic segments with mobile-optimized pre-landers.

A Thailand casino campaign using CPM bidding on pop traffic achieved over $4,000 profit with 326% ROI, demonstrating that Asian markets can offer better economics due to lower competition.

A Portugal popunder campaign earned $3,221 profit by segmenting traffic between iOS and Android devices, with CPA payouts of $220 per deposit. One notable outcome: a single brand generated over $25,000 from just three high-value deposits.

Why the Economics Work

The key insight is that high player lifetime values cover acquisition costs. You can afford to pay $0.50 per click when 2% convert at $100 CPA, because your effective acquisition cost ($25 per player) sits well below your payout.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets often deliver better profit margins than Tier 1. Yes, payouts are lower ($50-$150 vs. $300-$500), but traffic costs are substantially cheaper and competition is less intense. A $75 CPA offer with $0.10 clicks can outperform a $400 CPA offer with $2.00 clicks.

What You Need to Know Before Starting

The opportunity is real, but so are the risks. Industry estimates suggest 17-20% of affiliate clicks involve fraud such as bots and fake registrations that waste advertising budgets. Most programs also operate on Net-30 or Net-45 payment terms, meaning you wait 30-45 days after earning commissions to actually receive payment.

Platform restrictions create additional challenges. Mainstream advertising networks require gambling certifications and frequently ban accounts for policy violations. Affiliates targeting regulated markets must include 18+ age notices, responsible gambling resources, and clear terms while restricting promotions to properly licensed jurisdictions.

Start with $500-$1,000 for testing. Focus on mastering one traffic source before diversifying. New affiliates should consider Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets first such as Brazil, Thailand, Turkey and Indonesia, where lower competition and cheaper traffic costs make profitability easier to achieve.

Choose CPA for immediate cash flow while learning the business. Switch to RevShare or hybrid deals once you’ve identified quality traffic sources that generate players who stick around.

The math works when you understand these payment structures, track the metrics that actually matter, and manage your budgets carefully enough to survive the learning curve.