Gambling Affiliation foresees major challenges for legal bookmakers in Belgium

Gambling Affiliation has been in business for twenty years and has established itself as a leading name within the international affiliate industry. The company works with online casinos, sportsbooks and affiliates in various regulated markets worldwide.

Gambling Club spoke to Milena Righetti about the Belgian market, the impact of regulation, SEO, illegal operators and the future of affiliate marketing in Belgium.

“Belgium remains interesting, precisely because it is small”

According to Milena, despite its limited size, Belgium remains a remarkably interesting market for SEO affiliates.

“From an affiliate perspective, Belgium is actually a very special market,” she explains. “There are very few affiliates who generate truly valuable traffic. This actually creates scope to negotiate better deals – think higher revenue shares, fixed fees or exclusive partnerships. Operators are competing for visibility on a relatively small number of high-quality websites.”

She also notes that the market remains dynamic.

“New brands with B+ licences are still emerging. We’re also seeing operators who’ve been active in Belgium for some time but are only now launching their affiliate programmes. That keeps the market lively.”

For Gambling Affiliation itself, Belgium is also strategically important.

“We exclusively manage the affiliate programmes for several Belgian brands. This gives us a strong position in this market.”

“SEO affiliates actually make compliance easier”

Belgium is known for its strict gambling regulations, but according to Milena, this is relative.

“We also operate in regulated markets such as France, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Switzerland. Compared to those, I don’t necessarily find Belgium any stricter.”

In fact, she believes that because virtually only SEO traffic is permitted, compliance becomes more straightforward.

“SEO affiliates are usually professional and respond quickly when regulations change. That makes it easier to remain compliant.”

According to Milena, it is therefore mainly about quality and speed.

“We look at affiliate traffic, but also at the quality of content. Are reviews up to date? Is there a clear ranking of bookmakers or casinos? Are operators discussed in depth? Those kinds of things are important.”

Communication also plays a major role.

“When regulations change, adjustments must be made quickly. That’s why we value affiliates who adapt immediately.”

“Belgian operators monitor everything much more strictly”

Milena sees clear differences between Belgian operators and those in other countries.

“In Belgium, operators spend less time on affiliate marketing than in larger markets, simply because the opportunities are more limited.”

Nevertheless, she believes that Belgian parties are much more critical when it comes to content.

“They scrutinise affiliate content much more closely. Operators often want affiliates to include as much information about their brand as possible.”

In other countries, she says, the focus is different.

“There, affiliate marketing often revolves around premium campaigns, special promotions, social traffic or media buying. For the time being, Belgium remains almost entirely dependent on SEO.”

“Illegal operators are gaining more and more ground online”

According to Milena, one of the biggest frustrations within the Belgian market is the visibility of illegal operators.

“That is perhaps the biggest challenge at the moment. Unregulated bookmakers are becoming increasingly visible online on Google compared to legal operators.”

She believes this creates an unbalanced situation.

“Legal operators are bound by strict rules, whilst foreign parties are often far less affected by them.”

Furthermore, SEO remains dependent on Google updates.

“Traffic can change completely from one day to the next. In other countries, you still have social media or paid advertising as an alternative. In Belgium, that backup is virtually non-existent.”

“It’s only during the World Cup that you really see how limited Belgium is”

According to Milena, the difference with other countries becomes painfully apparent, particularly around major sporting events.

“Internationally, sports betting often relies heavily on social media campaigns. But Belgian operators can hardly make use of them.”

With the World Cup approaching, she therefore sees a difficult playing field emerging.

“Belgium is taking part in the World Cup, but bookmakers have very few opportunities to gain online visibility around that event. Meanwhile, unregulated parties can often advertise much more aggressively.”

Nevertheless, she emphasises that affiliates remain important.

“Every operator must be visible on the major SEO websites. Otherwise, you lose ground to competitors.”

“Good tracking and fast payments are crucial”

According to Milena, trust remains the absolute foundation of affiliate marketing.

“Deals must be honoured. Payments must be made on time. And live tracking is essential.”

She believes transparency is hugely important for affiliates.

“If operators pay quickly, we can pay affiliates faster too. That strengthens trust.”

She also believes real-time statistics are indispensable.

“Affiliates want to be able to track exactly what their traffic is generating.”

“Affiliates have bargaining power right now”

Despite all the restrictions, Milena still sees opportunities in Belgium.

“Good affiliates are scarce. As a result, high-quality websites actually have a strong negotiating position today.”

She believes it is more difficult for operators.

“Unless the regulator permits more forms of affiliate marketing or takes tougher action against illegal providers, growth opportunities will remain limited.”

Nevertheless, she expects the market to remain active.

“We are still seeing new brands and affiliate programmes emerge. B+ licensed operators, in particular, continue to enter the market.”

“Twenty years of experience makes all the difference”

Finally, Milena explains why operators choose Gambling Affiliation.

“We have been in business for twenty years now. During that time, we have seen how markets have been regulated and how affiliate marketing has developed.”

According to her, the strength lies primarily in experience and technology.

“We have built up a large international affiliate network and have our own affiliate software.”

That software is now used by thirteen Belgian operators.

“Technical integration can be completed within a single day. After that, affiliates can often go live within a few days.”