New Member - When to Apply to Affiliate Programs? (UK Casinos)

[HoneyBadger]

Hey everyone, I decided to launch a couple of sites in the UK casino space after coming across this forum a few weeks ago, and I've just activated my account.

I'm a relatively experienced affiliate marketer, and wanted to take on this new challenge to put my SEO skills to the test in a lucrative, yet challenging industry. The UK casino space definitely has a lot of nuances to it, especially with tightening regulation, so it's been fantastic to have this forum to get up to speed on a lot of important details.

My main question is this:

When should you start applying to affiliate programs? (I have UK focused slots affiliate site, so I would be applying to casinos with a UK license)

I know that most of them would probably reject you if you aren't already bringing in traffic, and I've seen members emphasise that you shouldn't just apply to them straight away - especially with how selective a lot of them are becoming.

Lets say I've got my site up with all of the core inner pages and have published multiple reviews.

How much traffic would you say you should be bringing in before applying? Are there any that would accept an affiliate with a new site?

Thanks a lot.

[universal4]

I say apply immediately to most operators, although some may not approve you straight away.

Why waste visitor traffic to your site with zero places to send them?

If someone is looking for a place to play, and would tend to join a casino today, and they end up on your site, wouldn't you want to offer them at least some choices?

Why offer them content and no links, or links without affilate tags? Neither of those 2 options provides you any income.

Rick
Universal4

[Nenad]

As Rick said above, why waste time and not offer something to visitors? Apply as soon as passible to as many programs as you can and start from there!

[ChRR]

what's the site that u have for UK market? can you share the url? is it compliant? maybe we can help..

[CharlesLund]

Apply as soon as possible.

You may not got accepted to some affiliate programs, but most will see the quality of your site and your intentions and most likely approve your application.

Wishing you the best in this heavily competitive, but profitable business.

[drifter8]

Aplply as soon as possible.

Also , pls share the URL Of the site. There will be a lot of affiliate programs, which you will evaluate, choose or just detele along the way

[Prophet_SEO]

As soon as your site is functional. No reason to apply to programs if your site isn't technically able to even re-direct the traffic to the program.

[Mattbar]

There are plenty of programs that do not have quotas so you can sign up immediately and start sending traffic, even if it is only an account every few months you may as well earn from it.

It is worth steering clear of the ones with quotas until you can send enough traffic. It would be a shame to send 5-10 accounts you've worked hard to get to a brand that then shuts the account and takes your players because you haven't sent 5 accounts in 3 months or whatever.

Just read the terms before you join and look for minimum activity quotas, ask the programs directly if unsure. Some will waive quotas for an initial 6 month or 12 month period if you contact them first.

[HoneyBadger]

what's the site that u have for UK market? can you share the url? is it compliant? maybe we can help..

It's bestslotbonus .co .uk - I've tried to make it compliant, by putting all of the required logos in the footer, and I have a terms and conditions tooltip next to all of the offers. I know that some operators will require more than just that, but it would be great to hear if you have any other suggestions.

Thanks.

[casinoportal]

When I launched my current site 15 or so months ago, I applied to loads. I found the majority will accept you straight away, some of the big ones like bet365, 888 willl just ignore or reject your application until your site is fully developed and bringing in traffic.

The only problem is places like Kindred require you to bring in a minimum number of players, if you don't reach that quota then your acccount is closed or commission reduced. With the UK focused ones you need to make sure your site is fully compliant with the UKGC, T&C's displayed under each bonus and be careful with the use of words such as free spins.

I use geotargeting to show a slightly different review to UK visitors, you are going to have it tough focusing solely on the UK market, due to the ever changing regulations and the amount of online casinos now shifting their focus away from the UK and exiting this market completely.

[Casino Gamerz]

Im also new but have found that a number of operators were willing to accept me due to my own background in marketing. I would say apply for the ones you like the look of and see who accepts. It is better to prepare early if possible while explaining and being honest to operators that they may have to wait a while for the traffic to come etc. best of luck!