Industry News
The future of influencer marketing in the igaming industry
Author: Anna Zhukova, Team Lead (iGaming vertical) of Famesters agency
Influencer marketing is no longer a way to promote a new mascara. Today, it is a dominating strategy for complex brands, products, and platforms. From 2016 to 2022, the average annual growth rate of the influencer marketing industry was 46.9%.
9 of 10 iGaming industry players use this channel permanently as a powerful way to connect and engage with their target audiences. It is easy to explain: smart leveraging the power of influencers can bring tremendous results already during the test launch.
Why use influencer marketing for iGaming?
By partnering with influencers who have a large and engaged audience in the iGaming community, brands can tap into a highly motivated audience that is more likely to respond positively to their marketing messages. Additionally, influencers provide a level of authenticity and trust that is difficult to achieve via traditional advertising channels, especially for those products that are not easy to promote due to legal risks. Finally, iGaming brands can leverage influencer marketing to stand out from competitors and stay on top of mind with consumers in a skyrocketing competitive market: the iGaming industry, comprising online gambling, sports betting, and casino games, has experienced rapid expansion in recent years. In 2021, the industry was estimated to be worth $61 billion annually, and has projections of an 86% growth rate by 2028.
Current situation and upcoming trends
As the iGaming industry evolves year by year, brands build their communication and expand the audience with content creators. According to the BuzzGuru research, 89% of the marketers admit that ROI from influencer marketing is higher than from other channels.
Year by year, by allocating influencer marketing budgets, iGaming brands gain the ability to expand their reach to new audiences and improve performance among existing ones. This advantage enables iGaming industry players to skyrocket. Today, we observe the rise of brands’ collaborations with micro-influencers: 77% of the brands prefer working with this type of creators. It is easy to explain: collaborations with niche creators usually bring better performance. Micro-influencers are seen as more authentic and engaging than larger influencers, that is why they can help build a more loyal and engaged customer base.
The trends in influencer marketing shaping the future of the industry are:
1. Diving deep
Influencer marketing is evolving towards a more comprehensive approach where content creators are deeply involved in promoting products. This approach goes far beyond traditional CPA deals, where influencers are paid based on the results they deliver. Today, we see creators who use iGaming products they promote regularly and at the same time express genuine excitement towards them becoming brand ambassadors. This leads to more genuine promotions because the creators provide not just the basic product information, benefits and bonuses the platform prepared for new users, but also their own unique experience. As a result, the promotions become more authentic and resonate better with the audience.
2. Long-term partnerships
More and more iGaming brands prefer to build long-lasting relationships with influencers, rather than one-off campaigns. This approach kills two birds with one stone: brands build more authentic and loyal relationships both with influencers and their audience, thus enlarge their own and attract new users. A successful approach is to build long-term relations for iGaming brand is to collaborate with influencers who already performed well and seek out content creators who are alike. Niche creators often form small communities, so partnering with such influencers can help broaden your brand’s reach by tapping into their audience.
3. Transparent messages
There is a growing emphasis on the transparency of ads. Simple promotions of casinos and betting platforms on YouTube and Instagram are forbidden, that is why the ad messages should be native and transparent. Tell about the benefits of your platform, its USP, and bonuses new users get after registration. At the same time, be clear in calls for action and use simple ones, such as ‘click here’, ‘register now’, ‘use a promo code’, and others.
Opportunities and challenges
Promotion of betting platforms and online casinos through influencers unlocks new possibilities for brands to expand their existing audience, including the opportunity to target new geos, build brand awareness and trust, and, finally, attract new players.
Let’s see how it works: an influencer showcases a bet slip or a feature they find impressive in an iGaming app or platform, along with a hyperlink in their post that leads to a casino lobby or a betting platform. This provides the audience with a clear and understandable picture of what they can expect from the app or a platform from a trustworthy creator they follow.
The success of an influencer marketing campaign highly depends on certain factors: creatives’ quality, relevant creators and their audiences. It is crucial to find influencers who have a strong performance and whose values align with those of your brand. One key aspect to consider is the relevance of your product to the content produced by the influencer. For example, at Famesters when planning integrations for betting platforms, we prefer working with influencers who create sports or entertaining content – they usually bring the best performance.
However, alongside opportunities come challenges. First, it can be difficult to find influencers that are experienced in the iGaming industry and are ready to take the risks: if a creator is caught in promoting iGaming, they get a strike from a platform, after 3 strikes the platform bans their account. Second, it is better to make sure you target the right audience. So it is better to identify them first. The ‘golden’ and the most desirable audience for iGaming brands is usually solvent males above 20. As for creatives, it’s essential to highlight any unique information or bonuses your platform provides. It’s also crucial to emphasize the expected action several times, at the same time this call-to-action should be clear and easy to understand.
Emerging technologies and their use for iGaming brands
The development of technologies does not stand still. One of the technologies to use for influencer marketing of iGaming brands is virtual and augmented reality: create immersive experiences for the audience, allowing them to see the creator in a ‘real-world’ casino or sportsbook. This can be especially effective for online casinos, which often struggle to replicate the excitement and atmosphere of a physical casino.
Another technology to be used is artificial intelligence (AI). On the one hand, AI could analyze data about the influencers’ account, including audience, the engagement rate, number of comments and others. Some AI, like BuzzGuru, help get a clear picture of competitors’ influencer marketing strategies, including paid and organic mentions, lists of influencers involved, videos links released and budgets spent.
On the other hand, AI can assist in creating more engaging ad messages for the audiences, as well as developing tasks and briefs for creators, diversifying scripts and thus making every single launch unique.
The importance of analytics in influencer marketing
As an agency, we stake on a deep analysis of current campaigns. This approach always helps understand the key audience and provide recommendations for further launches – by cutting off non-working solutions, we easily increase the performance on the go. By going deeper into creators’ analytics such as audience data, engagement rates, average views and reach, in addition to previous launches’ performance for the similar products, we are able to make a clear estimation in order to squeeze the maximum possible outcomes.
Besides, the industry is growing very fast and we’re always learning. The reality shows that even small changes in strategy can affect the whole launch significantly and only a proper analytics and the ability to overview things from the subtle side gives the luxury to absorb the newly came information.
SOFTSWISS, a global provider of iGaming software solutions, has won two prestigious trophies at the EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025. These recognitions come alongside two more accolades at Malta’s iGaming Excellence Awards 2025.
EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards
Hosted annually, the EGR Marketing & Innovation Awards honour the most innovative and effective campaigns and teams in online gaming. Recognising success across marketing, creative execution, customer engagement, and commercial results, the awards are regarded as one of the industry’s top accolades.
This year marks the third consecutive win for SOFTSWISS, following previous victories for its standout campaigns, Bringing the Heat in 2023 and Grab Success in 2024. The judges praised the SOFTSWISS marketing team with the Marketing Team of the Year Award for showing a clear passion for their brand and a creative use of new technologies and data analytics.
In addition to leading the team’s collective success, Valentina Bagniya, CMO at SOFTSWISS, was personally recognised as the best B2B Marketer of the Year for her role in transforming SOFTSWISS’ marketing function into a brand powerhouse.
“Thank you to the EGR jury team for this wonderful recognition. Winning Marketing Team of the Year is an extraordinary achievement that highlights our strength and dedication as a team. Additionally, receiving B2B Marketer of the Year is a deeply meaningful acknowledgement of our collective efforts,” says Valentina Bagniya. “These awards are not about individual achievements; they reflect the creativity, commitment, and passion of our entire marketing team.”
Malta’s iGaming Excellence Awards
SOFTSWISS also received major recognition at Malta’s Gaming Excellence Awards 2025. Ivan Montik, Founder of SOFTSWISS, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for exceptional contributions to the iGaming industry over the course of his career. Meanwhile, Rubens Barrichello, ex-Formula 1 pilot and Non-Executive Director in Latin America at SOFTSWISS, was named Best iGaming Influencer of the Year, celebrating his significant impact through content creation, marketing, and online presence.
Valentina Bagniya comments: “It’s significant that our colleagues Ivan Montik and Rubens Barrichello received recognition at Malta’s Gaming Excellence Awards 2025, demonstrating how our leadership vision is increasingly recognised and valued by industry professionals. Moving forward, we remain dedicated to expanding our expertise and actively contributing to the advancement of our industry.”
On 3-4 July, the SOFTSWISS team will be attending iGB Live in London, ready to share their insights and expertise with interested attendees.
About SOFTSWISS
SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 30,000 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team counts over 2,000 employees.
The post SOFTSWISS Takes Home Four Awards In One Night appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Welcome to our weekly roundup of American gambling news again! Here, we are going through the weekly highlights of the American gambling industry which include the latest news and new partnerships. Read on and get updated.
Latest News
BMM Innovation Group, a technology conglomerate focused on gaming product compliance testing, cybersecurity solutions and virtual training for the global gaming industry, announced that it is exhibiting at the Perú Gaming Show 2025, June 18–19 at the Centro de Exposiciones Jockey in Lima, Perú. BMM’s local experts will be available at Booth No. 31–32 to discuss the Company’s full suite of testing, certification, cybersecurity and virtual training services for Perú’s growing gaming industry. With a well-established land-based sector and a rapidly expanding online gaming market, Perú represents one of the most dynamic jurisdictions in Latin America. BMM has supported the Peruvian gaming industry for more than 18 years, with a dedicated office in Lima since 2007. The Company’s deep roots and compliance expertise make it uniquely positioned to serve the diverse needs of Perú’s casinos, sports betting operators, lottery providers and online gaming programmes.
Amusnet is set to make a powerful impression at the Peru Gaming Show 2025, taking place on June 18-19 in Lima, by presenting a comprehensive portfolio across its Online Casino, Live Casino, and Land-based verticals. As one of the most prominent and influential gaming exhibitions in Latin America, PGS brings together the industry’s leading providers, manufacturers and decision-makers for two days of impactful business exchange. Amusnet is also sponsoring the LMG Futbol Experience on June 17, held just before the exhibition, showcasing involvement in local events and its engagement in supporting industry-wide collaboration.
International Game Technology PLC announced that its spectacular RISE55 cabinet is now live on casino floors across the US. With robust, performance-focused content roadmaps for the premium-leased and for-sale game segments, IGT’s RISE55 cabinet debuted with the highly entertaining Magic Treasures Gold game. The RISE55 cabinet features a 55-inch ultra-HD curved display that delivers crisp graphics, enhanced audio technology and remarkable player comfort. The RISE55 cabinet first hit casino floors in late May, with additional deployments planned through the summer. As the hardware’s Class III premium launch title, Magic Treasures Gold is a visually stunning multi-level progressive game with features that build upon the success of IGT’s award-winning Magic Treasures game, including a leveled-up version of the Money Ball feature.
Partnerships
Hard Rock Cafe, in partnership with international soccer icon Lionel Messi, launched new merchandise coinciding with one of the year’s most anticipated global soccer tournaments. The collection debuts as part of Hard Rock’s “WE PLAY TOGETHER” campaign, which unites soccer fans to celebrate the sport. The campaign will feature special experiences and exclusive offers, such as bundle deals combining themed Messi menu and retail items, for guests to watch each match and show support for their favourite teams. Lionel Messi announced the collection via an Instagram post, where he donned one of the custom tees now available for purchase.
PrizePicks, the largest daily fantasy sports operator in North America, announced that it has partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team’s Official DFS Partner. The partnership features several digital and in-stadium activations at Dodger Stadium as PrizePicks continues to strengthen its brand presence in baseball.
The post Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – June 9-15 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
There are affiliate networks, and then there’s MegaList – a performance-first, hype-last kind of operation built for casino and sportsbook brands that prefer results over buzzwords.
In an industry that sometimes feels like it’s powered by vague metrics and recycled content, MegaList steps in as the “Mega Map” – a practical, data-driven network guiding both players and operators to higher ground. Less “look at our reach,” more “here’s your conversion rate.”
So no, this isn’t just another logo-stamped brand promising traffic and delivering bounce rates. This is a carefully engineered affiliate engine built on smart SEO, qualified leads, and just enough caffeine-fueled obsession with results to make even the most skeptical operators pay attention.
The iGaming Affiliate World: Why It (Still) Matters
Let’s be honest – the affiliate space in iGaming has had its fair share of bad actors and empty promises. But when done right, affiliate marketing is still one of the most effective and efficient ways to connect licensed operators with the right players.
Players want fewer popups, more clarity. Operators want actual ROI, not vague impressions.
Enter: the data-driven affiliate network.
It’s simple:
- Informed players make better choices.
- Strategic affiliates deliver better traffic.
- Everyone wins. Except, of course, the shady operators who preferred it the other way.
Meet the MegaList Brands
These aren’t vanity microsites. Each MegaList brand has a specific mission, actual humans behind the content, and a reputation for, well… telling it like it is.
MegaCasinoList
Let’s face it – players don’t need another affiliate promising “top 10 casinos” based on whatever ad paid the most. They need honest, transparent, expert-backed reviews.
That’s where MegaCasinoList comes in – a platform that filters out the noise and delivers legit info on licensed casinos, security, fairness, and gameplay. Slots? Live dealer games? Payout speed? Yep, it’s all in there, and it’s all vetted.
They work with reliable operators only, because – and here’s a crazy idea – not every shiny site deserves your deposit.
MegaTipsList
If you like sports predictions that read like a 20-page legal document, you’re in the wrong place.
MegaTipsList is built for bettors who want real insights, fast reads, accurate tips, and actual value. It delivers predictions, sports news, and timely promotions – minus the fluff and with none of that “win guaranteed” nonsense.
Designed for bettors who like to stay informed without needing a PhD to understand the odds.
MegaBetList
For the practical bettor who just wants the facts: which sites are legit, which ones pay fast, and what to expect before placing your first wager.
MegaBetList reviews betting platforms with a clear, no-nonsense voice. It’s not trying to dazzle; it’s trying to help people bet smarter – and it’s doing a pretty solid job of it.
From licensing to promotions to usability, everything is covered – and everything is filtered through what actually matters to sports fans.
Why This All Matters (And Why It’s Working)
The iGaming world doesn’t need more noise. It needs better filters, smarter partners, and affiliates that actually care whether the traffic leads somewhere useful.
That’s where MegaList comes in – not to impress with buzzwords, but to perform, to scale, and to make sure both operators and players are on the same page for once.
And if we may drop in a little vision while we’re at it:
“At MegaList, we believe informed players and strategic operators shape a stronger, smarter iGaming industry.”
For once, a statement that isn’t just inspirational filler.
So the next time someone pitches you an affiliate network, ask one thing: “Do they have a plan, or just a landing page?”
MegaList has both, and a track record to prove it.
Explore MegaList’s network:
🔗 MegaAffiliatesList.com
The post Meet MegaList: The Rising Force in iGaming Affiliation appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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