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Sorare raises a €40m Series A from Benchmark and Accel Partners to help fans own their football passion online

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Sorare, the digital collectible football platform, announces that it has received €40 million in Series A financing, led by Benchmark, with additional funding from Accel and new business angels. The angels include Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Vaynermedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk, football players Antoine Griezmann and Rio Ferdinand. The financing brings Sorare’s total funding to €48 million. The capital will be used to fuel the growth of the community, accelerate the hiring of a world-class team and launch a mobile application.

Fantastically real collectibles

Football is a common denominator for more than 4 billion people globally but today, fans feel further away from the game they love than ever before. As we spend more time online, the need for connection has significantly shifted to digital experiences. Sports card collectibles have long helped fans celebrate their love of the game, and now they can experience a whole new world online. Sorare is leading the new era of online football fandom, where fans can live football moments and true connections like never before.

The company’s mission is to build “the game within the game” and to give fans the platform to celebrate, share and own their football passion. Through tradable digital cards, Sorare is designing a collective fantasy football experience where you can manage your favorite players and hone your passion to earn prizes. Anyone, anywhere, can connect with the beautiful game on Sorare.

Growing across the globe

The company, which is already profitable, has experienced an explosive 52% month-on-month growth over the past 12 months, going from €50K worth of cards traded on the platform in January 2020 to €3.5M in January 2021 across 120 countries.

More than 120 football clubs have launched their digital cards on Sorare, with all European Champions actively participating in the growth of the game. Partnerships with Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus make Sorare the first digital collectible platform to offer cards from Europe’s top five league champions. The company’s ambition is to onboard the top 20 football leagues globally. This next-generation gaming experience allows leagues and clubs to expand their international brand by reaching an untapped audience of fans. Sorare is effectively opening up a new traceable and sustainable revenue stream for them.

Crypto’s next consumer application

Sorare collectibles are backed by blockchain technology to provide transparency and portability into other games. More importantly, the blockchain Ethereum enables the act of collecting in the digital space by creating digital scarcity through “non-fungible tokens” (NFT). It secures the passion of fans and creates a new level of trust and freedom for gamers who can freely trade their assets over the internet.

Sorare joins the ranks of culturally impactful companies and innovative brands in the Benchmark and Accel portfolio, including Twitter, Snap, Instagram and Spotify.

Nicolas Julia, CEO at Sorare explained: “Sorare was born from our love for football. We’re building a gaming experience fueled by passion where fans can connect with football and a global community. On Sorare, they can truly own the game. Today is a watershed moment – both for Sorare as a company and for our community – that will enable us to touch new markets and radically improve our product to become the game within the beautiful game.”

Peter Fenton, General Partner at Benchmark commented: “We’re thrilled to partner with Sorare as their lead Series A investor. The company combines the global passion for football collectibles with the excitement of real-world play in fantasy league tournaments. The founders early work in blockchain technology gave them the unique insight into a killer application for a new NFT – real players in real games creating enduring value for a digital artifact. Their explosive growth codifies the utility of these technologies in everyday life.”

Andrei Brasoveanu, Partner at Accel added: “Sitting at the intersection of fantasy football and sports collectibles, Sorare is revolutionizing the way fans across the world engage with and enjoy sports. In just a year, Sorare has built an incredible viral community and secured partnerships with more than 130 football clubs, including five European Champions. This impressive growth is a testament to the ambition and determination of Nicolas, Adrien and the entire Sorare team. We’re excited to join Sorare on the next stage of their journey and help build the leading digital sports collectibles platform worldwide!”

Christian Miele, Partner at e.ventures, commented: “We have been impressed by Nicolas’ and Adrien’s vision from day one. For the first time in human history a digital collectible holds a utility and can be used in a wide field of applications to attract soccer fanatics, collectors, and investors alike. This is why Sorare is best positioned to create one of the largest next-generation entertainment companies in the world.”

Gerard Piqué, Strategic Advisor at Sorare, explained: “As world football has shifted from local supporters to global fanbases, football fans are looking for new ways to be connected to the game, the players and other fans. Nicolas and the team have a unique gaming experience with real-world impact, bringing fantasy to reality. I’m looking forward to helping the team and the Sorare community connect with more football clubs and leagues.”

Sia Houchangnia, Partner at Seedcamp, concluded: “Sorare is a truly category-defining company and has the potential to become one of the biggest consumer tech success stories out of Europe. In less than 2 years since our pre-seed investment, the Sorare team has built from scratch a complex economy within an incredibly compelling game. Most importantly, Sorare can count on one of the most vibrant communities of early adopters we’ve ever seen. The growth has been astonishing and there’s an entire ecosystem of games and content being built around Sorare’s football cards. This is one of the most exciting businesses we’ve had the chance to work with and we are incredibly excited to have Benchmark and Accel joining the journey.”

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How to Choose an iGaming Offer: N1 Partners x RichAds Share Their Expertise

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What does it really take to pick the right iGaming offer for promotion? With so many variables to consider, it’s easy to make mistakes, especially for affiliates just starting out.

To help clarify things, N1 Partners and the RichAds ad network joined forces to share practical advice on choosing profitable offers and avoiding common pitfalls.

The conversation took place during the N1 Puzzle Promo — a competition where affiliates, both seasoned and new, experiment with different traffic sources, tools, brands, and GEOs to achieve one main goal: maximize profits from their traffic. And selecting the right offer is the first step toward success.

Meet the Experts

Before diving into the tips, here are the people sharing their insights:

Daria Maichuk

Affiliate Manager at N1 Partners


Veronika Ponomareva

Head of Customer Service at RichAds

 

What is RichAds?

RichAds is an ad network offering a wide range of traffic sources, including:

  • Telegram ads
  • Push notifications
  • Popunders
  • Domain redirects
  • Native ads
  • Display traffic

Prices start at just $0.005 CPC for push ads and $0.5 CPM for popunders, with access to traffic across 200+ GEOs from Tier 3 to Tier 1.

 

How to Choose an iGaming Offer: Expert Advice

We asked Daria and Veronika the most important questions affiliates have when evaluating iGaming offers.

1. What parameters of an iGaming offer should be analyzed first before launching?

Daria Maichuk

“Start with the GEO: is gambling legal, how competitive is the market, and how solvent is the audience? Then check the payment model (CPA, RevShare, Hybrid) and the funnel: registration flow, minimum deposit, and site usability. The product matters too — top providers, live casino, sports, esports, localization, and bonuses. Finally, look at retention: how long players stay active and what campaigns keep them engaged.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“First of all, it’s the payout conditions, brand and its reputation on the market, as well as the funnel flow and the content of pre-landing/landing pages to pay attention to. Many things can affect a campaign’s result such as verification before the first deposit, the lack of locally popular payment methods support and the first deposit amount.” 

2. How can a beginner determine the potential of an offer? Which metrics should they focus on to avoid wasting budget?

 Daria Maichuk

“Key metrics are Conversion Rate (CR), Earnings Per Click (EPC), and Click-Through Rate (CTR). A low CTR usually means the offer doesn’t match the audience or creatives. Test multiple landers — welcome pages and reg forms typically perform best. Also consider First Time Deposits (FTD) and retention, as they reflect the long-term potential of an offer.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Cost per registration, cost per conversion and ROI — are basic yet the most crucial things to look at. Potential means the long-lasting profit, so pay attention to the LTV (Lifetime Value). An offer could have a moderate EPC, but if the player retention is high and brings many secondary deposits, then the LTV would be extremely high accordingly. Ask your manager about the LTV of the offer in the required geo.” 

 

3. How does a brand’s license affect the choice of GEO and traffic?

Daria Maichuk

“White licenses allow affiliates to work in regulated markets and run campaigns on official ad channels like Google Ads, FB, and TikTok. Grey licenses are also usable, but platforms often restrict or ban them, so affiliates need strong moderation skills.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“The licensing topic is highly important due to the fact that it determines the legality of traffic and what sources are acessible. Strict licenses (MGA, UKGC) approve only the cleanest traffic (mostly PPC and SEO). The traffic is very expensive, but provides quality leads. Curacao license gives more freedom as you can work with push-traffic, teasers and popunders. High risks come with no license at all as well as the accessible traffic sources are very limited.” 

4. Which three GEOs currently deliver the highest ROI in iGaming, and why?

Daria Maichuk

“Germany: high purchasing power, stable LTV and retention, large deposits, strong conversion.

Canada: fast-growing, high trust in licensed brands, boosting CR and retention.

Australia: players spend more, stay active longer, and convert well into deposits.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Depends on the traffic source we’re looking at, for example, if it’s either push or pop, then Bangladesh, Brazil and South Africa are currently on top.”

5. How can you understand whether an offer fits your main traffic source (FB, PPC, push, etc.) before testing?

Daria Maichuk

“Beginners often test blindly, but it’s possible to know in advance. FB and Google are the most widespread sources. Google traffic is highly engaged because players search for the product themselves. Facebook is harder for retention, but we work actively to improve it, especially for this audience, where push campaigns are essential. Push/Pop works for most offers, though CR is lower. If an offer has working apps (ASO), it can also be promoted through stores.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Facebook and Google Ads are following strict guidelines on accessible content regarding iGaming offers, so it’s a common headache for marketers to test offers there and co-exist with moderation rules. Push and pop traffic doesn’t apply so many demands to the advertising content, so they’re way more preferrable for promotion means. So are Telegram Mini Apps, by the way, since they feature more tolerant moderation by advertising networks and fresh relevant audience.” 

6. Top 3 traffic sources for iGaming in 2025?

Daria Maichuk

“Google: high-intent users, precise targeting.

Facebook: huge reach, flexible creative testing.

SEO: long-term stability, independent of traffic costs, especially effective for RevShare.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Telegram Mini Apps: fresh audience, broad opportunities for advertising formats and extremely relevant users who come from casual games and tap-to-earn clickers.

Push-notifications: proven traffic source with high CTR and pre-made user bases that provide easier outreach to converting players.

Popunders: high CR and cost-effective means for promotion, since quality landing pages are usually enough to convert impulsive gamblers.” 

7. Do your affiliates drive traffic through Telegram and what are the specifics? What do you think about mini-app traffic?

Daria Maichuk

“Yes, we’ve seen such cases, but most affiliates still prefer other sources. Data is still limited, but we’re closely monitoring Telegram and mini-app traffic and see strong potential here.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“For us it’s a channel that we actively explore, since introducing Telegram Mini App ads showed us how much of a potential they hold straight away. First of all, TMAs themselves offer a global coverage and outreach to a variety of potential leads for the iGaming products, coming from all over games and applications. In fact, since the moderation policies there are independent from the official Telegram Ads platform, that gives additional interest to this traffic.”

8. How many FTDs are needed to objectively evaluate an iGaming offer?

Daria Maichuk

“PPC: 20–30 FTD.

Facebook (slots): 20–30 FTD.

Facebook (crash games): at least 100 FTD.

In-app: around 100 FTD.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“At least 30 FtD, but to evaluate the offer properly it’s best to look into the player activity in the long run, the average amount of the deposits and other in-depth metrics.” 

9. Which KPIs do you recommend for testing: ROI, FTD, deposit, or retention?

Daria Maichuk

“We often use soft KPIs. On average, we expect the avg dep count to be >=2. Sometimes we also track the ratio of total deposits to partner payout.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“It’s a complex matter as hitting the KPIs is usually the result of a combination of factors getting along.”

10. What should affiliates do if an offer “drops” after two weeks — switch or optimize?

Daria Maichuk

“If results were good initially, optimize creatives and targeting. If not, check whether the creatives included slots actually available in the product. Our managers always provide updated slot and targeting recommendations.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Optimize the campaign, examine the metrics, check the creatives, change landing pages – try to find the correlation to this in the traffic performance.”

11. Which statistical indicators show that an offer can be scaled?

Daria Maichuk

“The main sign is stable positive ROI over several days or weeks. Also look at the funnel (click → registration → deposit) and player retention.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Simply, a more or less stable ROI is the main indicator here.”

12. How to scale an offer within one source without lowering CR?

Daria Maichuk

“Increase budgets gradually — 10–20% every 1–2 days. Scale your best-performing bundles first. Always refresh creatives: without new content, audiences burn out and CR declines.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“The same level scaling is the key. If by creatives, then create new combinations of creatives and landing pages. If by the audience — gradually add more newcomer oriented targetings, instead of increasing the bids on the current ones. Just test everything by degrees.”

Conclusion

The N1 Puzzle Promo highlighted not only the competitive spirit among affiliates but also the importance of knowing how to pick the right iGaming offers. From choosing GEOs and traffic sources to tracking KPIs and scaling campaigns, the advice from N1 Partners and RichAds gives affiliates a clear roadmap to better results.

RichAds continues to support the iGaming community with its self-serve platform, offering access to 220+ GEOs and multiple traffic types from push and popunders to Telegram Mini Apps and native ads.

Launch smarter campaigns, work with the right offers, and grow your iGaming profits!

The post How to Choose an iGaming Offer: N1 Partners x RichAds Share Their Expertise appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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2025 PBR Camping World Teams Championship

Kansas City Outlaws Partners with Palms Casino Resort

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The Kansas City Outlaws are teaming up with Palms Casino Resort to bring fans an unforgettable experience during the 2025 PBR Camping World Teams Championship, set for October 24–26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This partnership will make Palms the Official Hotel Partner of the Kansas City Outlaws.

Located just off the famed Las Vegas Strip, T-Mobile Arena will once again host the league’s top teams as they battle for the Championship title. To celebrate the event, the Outlaws and Palms are offering an exclusive discounted hotel rate for Kansas City fans, with the following fan activation for ticket holders being available:

Thursday, Oct. 23:

Exclusive open team workout from 5-6:30 p.m. PST led by UFC legend Cowboy Cerrone and Kansas City Outlaws Trainer Will Hooper, presented by Monster Energy at Palms Pool Deck.

Friday, Oct. 24:

Kansas City Outlaws Pre-Game Tailgate. In attendance will be Stay Chill Bill Chainstitch, a custom chainstitch designer who has worked with stars like Post Malone.

Team sendoff at 3:30 p.m. PST with live music by Andy Velo.

An afterparty featuring DJ Silver presented by Monster Energy will follow the first day’s events at Ghostbar, an ultralounge atop the 55th floor of the Ivory Tower at Palms, showcasing the incredible views of the Las Vegas Strip.

Saturday, Oct. 25:

Kansas City Outlaws Pre-Game Tailgate. In attendance will be Stay Chill Bill Chainstitch, a custom chainstitch designer who has worked with stars like Post Malone.

Team sendoff at 3:30 p.m. PST with live music by Andy Velo.

Sunday, Oct. 26:

Kansas City Outlaws Pre-Game Tailgate starting at 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

Official team sendoff at11 a.m. PST

Fans who take advantage of the offer will also receive access to a dedicated Outlaws fan seating section inside the arena—perfect for showing team spirit and cheering on Kansas City’s premier bull riding team on the sport’s biggest stage.

The post Kansas City Outlaws Partners with Palms Casino Resort appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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How to Choose an iGaming Offer: N1 Partners x RichAds Share Their Expertise

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how-to-choose-an-igaming-offer:-n1-partners-x-richads-share-their-expertise
Reading Time: 6 minutes

What does it really take to pick the right iGaming offer for promotion? With so many variables to consider, it’s easy to make mistakes, especially for affiliates just starting out.

To help clarify things, N1 Partners and the RichAds ad network joined forces to share practical advice on choosing profitable offers and avoiding common pitfalls.

The conversation took place during the N1 Puzzle Promo — a competition where affiliates, both seasoned and new, experiment with different traffic sources, tools, brands, and GEOs to achieve one main goal: maximize profits from their traffic. And selecting the right offer is the first step toward success.

Meet the Experts

Before diving into the tips, here are the people sharing their insights:

Daria Maichuk

Affiliate Manager at N1 Partners


Veronika Ponomareva

Head of Customer Service at RichAds

 

What is RichAds?

RichAds is an ad network offering a wide range of traffic sources, including:

  • Telegram ads
  • Push notifications
  • Popunders
  • Domain redirects
  • Native ads
  • Display traffic

Prices start at just $0.005 CPC for push ads and $0.5 CPM for popunders, with access to traffic across 200+ GEOs from Tier 3 to Tier 1.

 

How to Choose an iGaming Offer: Expert Advice

We asked Daria and Veronika the most important questions affiliates have when evaluating iGaming offers.

1. What parameters of an iGaming offer should be analyzed first before launching?

Daria Maichuk

“Start with the GEO: is gambling legal, how competitive is the market, and how solvent is the audience? Then check the payment model (CPA, RevShare, Hybrid) and the funnel: registration flow, minimum deposit, and site usability. The product matters too — top providers, live casino, sports, esports, localization, and bonuses. Finally, look at retention: how long players stay active and what campaigns keep them engaged.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“First of all, it’s the payout conditions, brand and its reputation on the market, as well as the funnel flow and the content of pre-landing/landing pages to pay attention to. Many things can affect a campaign’s result such as verification before the first deposit, the lack of locally popular payment methods support and the first deposit amount.” 

2. How can a beginner determine the potential of an offer? Which metrics should they focus on to avoid wasting budget?

 Daria Maichuk

“Key metrics are Conversion Rate (CR), Earnings Per Click (EPC), and Click-Through Rate (CTR). A low CTR usually means the offer doesn’t match the audience or creatives. Test multiple landers — welcome pages and reg forms typically perform best. Also consider First Time Deposits (FTD) and retention, as they reflect the long-term potential of an offer.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Cost per registration, cost per conversion and ROI — are basic yet the most crucial things to look at. Potential means the long-lasting profit, so pay attention to the LTV (Lifetime Value). An offer could have a moderate EPC, but if the player retention is high and brings many secondary deposits, then the LTV would be extremely high accordingly. Ask your manager about the LTV of the offer in the required geo.” 

 

3. How does a brand’s license affect the choice of GEO and traffic?

Daria Maichuk

“White licenses allow affiliates to work in regulated markets and run campaigns on official ad channels like Google Ads, FB, and TikTok. Grey licenses are also usable, but platforms often restrict or ban them, so affiliates need strong moderation skills.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“The licensing topic is highly important due to the fact that it determines the legality of traffic and what sources are acessible. Strict licenses (MGA, UKGC) approve only the cleanest traffic (mostly PPC and SEO). The traffic is very expensive, but provides quality leads. Curacao license gives more freedom as you can work with push-traffic, teasers and popunders. High risks come with no license at all as well as the accessible traffic sources are very limited.” 

4. Which three GEOs currently deliver the highest ROI in iGaming, and why?

Daria Maichuk

“Germany: high purchasing power, stable LTV and retention, large deposits, strong conversion.

Canada: fast-growing, high trust in licensed brands, boosting CR and retention.

Australia: players spend more, stay active longer, and convert well into deposits.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Depends on the traffic source we’re looking at, for example, if it’s either push or pop, then Bangladesh, Brazil and South Africa are currently on top.”

5. How can you understand whether an offer fits your main traffic source (FB, PPC, push, etc.) before testing?

Daria Maichuk

“Beginners often test blindly, but it’s possible to know in advance. FB and Google are the most widespread sources. Google traffic is highly engaged because players search for the product themselves. Facebook is harder for retention, but we work actively to improve it, especially for this audience, where push campaigns are essential. Push/Pop works for most offers, though CR is lower. If an offer has working apps (ASO), it can also be promoted through stores.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Facebook and Google Ads are following strict guidelines on accessible content regarding iGaming offers, so it’s a common headache for marketers to test offers there and co-exist with moderation rules. Push and pop traffic doesn’t apply so many demands to the advertising content, so they’re way more preferrable for promotion means. So are Telegram Mini Apps, by the way, since they feature more tolerant moderation by advertising networks and fresh relevant audience.” 

6. Top 3 traffic sources for iGaming in 2025?

Daria Maichuk

“Google: high-intent users, precise targeting.

Facebook: huge reach, flexible creative testing.

SEO: long-term stability, independent of traffic costs, especially effective for RevShare.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Telegram Mini Apps: fresh audience, broad opportunities for advertising formats and extremely relevant users who come from casual games and tap-to-earn clickers.

Push-notifications: proven traffic source with high CTR and pre-made user bases that provide easier outreach to converting players.

Popunders: high CR and cost-effective means for promotion, since quality landing pages are usually enough to convert impulsive gamblers.” 

7. Do your affiliates drive traffic through Telegram and what are the specifics? What do you think about mini-app traffic?

Daria Maichuk

“Yes, we’ve seen such cases, but most affiliates still prefer other sources. Data is still limited, but we’re closely monitoring Telegram and mini-app traffic and see strong potential here.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“For us it’s a channel that we actively explore, since introducing Telegram Mini App ads showed us how much of a potential they hold straight away. First of all, TMAs themselves offer a global coverage and outreach to a variety of potential leads for the iGaming products, coming from all over games and applications. In fact, since the moderation policies there are independent from the official Telegram Ads platform, that gives additional interest to this traffic.”

8. How many FTDs are needed to objectively evaluate an iGaming offer?

Daria Maichuk

“PPC: 20–30 FTD.

Facebook (slots): 20–30 FTD.

Facebook (crash games): at least 100 FTD.

In-app: around 100 FTD.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“At least 30 FtD, but to evaluate the offer properly it’s best to look into the player activity in the long run, the average amount of the deposits and other in-depth metrics.” 

9. Which KPIs do you recommend for testing: ROI, FTD, deposit, or retention?

Daria Maichuk

“We often use soft KPIs. On average, we expect the avg dep count to be >=2. Sometimes we also track the ratio of total deposits to partner payout.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“It’s a complex matter as hitting the KPIs is usually the result of a combination of factors getting along.”

10. What should affiliates do if an offer “drops” after two weeks — switch or optimize?

Daria Maichuk

“If results were good initially, optimize creatives and targeting. If not, check whether the creatives included slots actually available in the product. Our managers always provide updated slot and targeting recommendations.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Optimize the campaign, examine the metrics, check the creatives, change landing pages – try to find the correlation to this in the traffic performance.”

11. Which statistical indicators show that an offer can be scaled?

Daria Maichuk

“The main sign is stable positive ROI over several days or weeks. Also look at the funnel (click → registration → deposit) and player retention.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“Simply, a more or less stable ROI is the main indicator here.”

12. How to scale an offer within one source without lowering CR?

Daria Maichuk

“Increase budgets gradually — 10–20% every 1–2 days. Scale your best-performing bundles first. Always refresh creatives: without new content, audiences burn out and CR declines.”

Veronika Ponomareva

“The same level scaling is the key. If by creatives, then create new combinations of creatives and landing pages. If by the audience — gradually add more newcomer oriented targetings, instead of increasing the bids on the current ones. Just test everything by degrees.”

Conclusion

The N1 Puzzle Promo highlighted not only the competitive spirit among affiliates but also the importance of knowing how to pick the right iGaming offers. From choosing GEOs and traffic sources to tracking KPIs and scaling campaigns, the advice from N1 Partners and RichAds gives affiliates a clear roadmap to better results.

RichAds continues to support the iGaming community with its self-serve platform, offering access to 220+ GEOs and multiple traffic types from push and popunders to Telegram Mini Apps and native ads.

Launch smarter campaigns, work with the right offers, and grow your iGaming profits!

The post How to Choose an iGaming Offer: N1 Partners x RichAds Share Their Expertise appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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