How easy is it to get accepted from major affiliate programs?

Hi all,

I had a dabble at affiliate marketing for sports betting several years ago and I'm hoping to return to it with a new site.

I'm thinking that getting accepted by the big affiliate programs might be more difficult than it used to be and I just wondered if there are now things that need to be on your site to get accepted?

I also wondered if they expect your site to have a certain amount of content on them?

I think I've read on here before that the general advice is to get set up with affiliate programs asap but I don't want to risk rejection or getting canned if my site isn't being updated with fresh content regularly.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

My experience has been mostly positive. I started around 1 year ago. Most programs accepted me without issues, a few just never responded but I didn't get many outright rejections.

When I first started applying my site was pretty basic, no in depth reviews or anything fancy, more just a landing page with some content. So I wouldn't stress too much about having a fully built out site before you apply.

My advice would be to just reach out to the ones you actually want to work with and start building those relationships. Most will only offer straight rev share in the beginning which is fine, it gets you going and gives you content and pages to build around. Once you have some traffic and conversions you can start negotiating better deals.

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Originally Posted by Maverick23

Hi all,

I had a dabble at affiliate marketing for sports betting several years ago and I'm hoping to return to it with a new site.

I'm thinking that getting accepted by the big affiliate programs might be more difficult than it used to be and I just wondered if there are now things that need to be on your site to get accepted?

I also wondered if they expect your site to have a certain amount of content on them?

I think I've read on here before that the general advice is to get set up with affiliate programs asap but I don't want to risk rejection or getting canned if my site isn't being updated with fresh content regularly.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

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Some affiliate programs will accept you even with little to no content (to be honest, fewer), while others will have specific requirements. And quite a few just won’t reply, or will do it long after you’ve given up waiting. How old is your site? Would it be possible to take what you already have and update it so you at least have something to show? In any case, you’re going to face rejection at some point for one reason or another, I don’t see that as optional in this industry. And if it’s a sports betting site, I can’t imagine how you could keep it profitable in the long-term without regularly adding or updating content, but maybe I am missing something.

Depends on what you think is a big one I guess. You can argue the 1xBet is pretty big, one of the most recognized names when it comes to gambling, at least. You can get accepted to their aff program even if you're just standing next to someone who promotes them :)

On the other hand, if you're a brand new affiliate - do you really want to go with the "biggest" brands?
Because it's kind of difficult to get players to sign up and start depositing as is, and if you have a new website with thin traffic and you are trying to promote brands that are promoted by 1000s of your competitors and that people usually just go directly to - it will be incredibly tricky to get things off the ground.

Promoting smaller and less known brands as a new affiliate gives you a way quicker ROI (even if the brands might eventually close or end up not paying).

Good question and solid advice in the replies. From my own experience launching a sportsbook comparison site recently, here's what I've found:The biggest factor in getting accepted isn't traffic volume - it's how professional your site looks and whether you have actual content. Most affiliate managers will visit your site before approving you, and they want to see that you're serious. A well-designed site with 15-20 quality pages will get accepted faster than a site with 500 pages of thin content.What helped me get accepted early on:- Having a proper About page and legal pages (privacy policy, terms, affiliate disclosure)- Real sportsbook reviews with genuine pros/cons, not just copied marketing copy- A clear content strategy visible on the site (guides, betting tips, odds comparisons)- Professional design with mobile responsivenessI'd agree with the point about not fixating on the biggest brands initially. Some of the crypto and newer sportsbooks have much more responsive affiliate programs and are easier to get started with. They also tend to offer better rev share percentages because they're actively trying to grow. You can always add bigger brands once you have traffic and a track record to show.One more tip: don't apply everywhere on day one. Apply to 3-4 programs, get set up properly with tracking and content around those brands first, then expand. Quality over quantity early on.

Some non-gambling affiliate programs (hardware/crypto exchanges) have rejected me because they don't want to associate with the gambling industry. Apart from that I've never had any issues getting accepted to most affiliate programs.

^ you promote a ton of scam sites it seems (eg jackpoker uses "liquidity bots" [botfarm corporation])- why would they turn you down?..

Thank you all for your replies and for sharing your experiences. NoDepostCasinos, in answer to your question, I'm starting a new site from scratch as I sold the last one.

Your responses have given me a clearer picture of what stage I should be at in terms of content and what strategy I should take but it's also reassuring that some will accept me anyway! Targeting some smaller brands first, as suggested, sounds like a good idea.

for some of them you will get access almost immediately and for others you will need to show that you have traffic. you just need to start sending requests and see the results :)
good luck

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Originally Posted by invinciblepoker

^ you promote a ton of scam sites it seems (eg jackpoker uses "liquidity bots" [botfarm corporation])- why would they turn you down?..

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I've read an article about JackPoker's links to a bot farm I'm pretty certain but unsure if the accusation of their involvement was ever substantiated. Bots are a huge issue with online poker that is only going to get worse unfortunately. They still seem to be widely promoted currently by most affiliates sites with a poker focus.

I appreciate the reply though, might stop promoting them. Will have to review it as haven't read about it in a long time.

You nailed it about the change in approach. They’ve become way more stricter(if that’s an actual word)! So many checklists and quite honestly, it’s absolutely draining when you think about it. You’d need a proper domain with SSL and some relevant content already live, i.e., reviews, odds comparisons, betting guides, tipster sections, etc. The list goes on and on. But then, an empty site with a “coming soon” message is more likely to be rejected. I would say that’s the end of the road for you in such circumstances but there are a few options that may suit what you’re looking for. Off the top of my head, oddx Partners is one you’d survive. They run a more direct program, so the barrier to entry is actually lower provided your site has some betting related content. I know they do tier 1 & 2 geos (at least the last I checked). But for now, I think you should focus on getting a handful of useful pages live first, then apply to a mix of programs (including some of the more approachable ones). Once you’re approved somewhere you can start monetising and keep adding fresh content without the pressure of an empty site.

one thing that has not come up here but bites later: ask at the application stage whether the program supports s2s postbacks and sub ids. a lot of smaller brands sit on white label platforms where you only get a basic click link and a dashboard, and you find out after you have already sent traffic that you cannot tie a deposit back to the page or campaign that produced it.

on acceptance itself, the pages a manager opens are usually the boring ones, responsible gambling, about, contact, terms. twenty decent pages with those four present reads as a real project. and a rejection from a big brand is often just not now, reapplying a few months later with traffic numbers works better than arguing the first answer.

It's a fair worry, but rejection is rarely about content volume alone -- programs accept new sites all the time. What managers are really checking is whether you look like a real, compliant business or a thin shell that'll disappear in three months.

Practical checklist before you apply:

1. Have a real foundation live -- 15-25 substantial pages, not stubs. Plus About and Contact pages with a real identity, and responsible gambling, 18+, and privacy pages. Managers do check the compliance pages; in regulated markets they're a licensing signal, not decoration.

2. Show a publishing rhythm. Even a few weeks of consistent new content tells a manager the site is alive. A site with 40 pages all published on the same day looks automated.

3. Start with smaller or regional programs if the majors hesitate. They onboard new affiliates faster, and three months of real FTDs is the best possible argument when you re-approach the big ones.

4. In the application, say plainly what your traffic plan is. "SEO content site, publishing X reviews/guides per week" beats a vague pitch.

One expectation to set: some programs will start new affiliates on revshare-only (no CPA/hybrid until you prove volume). Take it, prove the FTDs, renegotiate later. That's normal, not a rejection.

I feel like application success really mostly just depends on what your homepage shows. Is this a website the brand wants to associate itself with?

Risky content? What are your articles talking about? What is your geo?