Welcome, community! In our comprehensive iGaming overview, we highlighted esports betting as a separate subcategory within the niche. Today, we’d like to continue that conversation and explain why many differentiate traditional betting from esports betting. It’s going to be an interesting one!
What is esports betting in affiliate marketing?
One of the most classic verticals in affiliate marketing is betting. You drive traffic to a bookmaker and receive a fixed reward. Usually, it’s a percentage of the losses generated by the player you referred.
When it comes to esports betting, technically it’s the same thing. But — the core of this niche revolves around competitive video games like Dota 2, CS 2, LoL, etc. So here’s what we get:
- Similarities: Seasonality — peak activity happens during major tournaments;
- Differences: A more segmented target audience, which can actually make it easier to find winning funnels.
This year is expected to be huge for the esports betting niche — bookmakers worldwide are projected to earn over $2.5 billion. And in the next five years, that figure will grow to $3.5 billion.
Esports keeps proving itself as a standalone industry. That’s why we believe it’s important to discuss this direction as a separate vertical in affiliate marketing.
Target audience for esports betting
The target audience is what really sets esports betting apart from traditional betting. A typical consumer of esports offers is:
- Gender: Mostly male; women make up only about 20% of the audience;
- Age: 18 to 40 years old, with some variation both ways. Sometimes even teenagers are into betting — although it’s prohibited under most licensed bookmakers. The most active segment is aged 20 to 25;
- GEO: Beyond North America, which is common in affiliate campaigns, esports betting is also big in Latin America and Southeast Asia.
It’s also important to understand which game is most popular in each country. This helps you pick the right offer and create relevant creatives that actually convert traffic.
Focus on solvent users who view betting as a hobby — a way to spice up the experience of watching their favorite matches.
Which games are popular in esports betting?
Choosing the right game as the base of your future ad campaign can be tricky. For instance, if you look at viewer popularity, League of Legends is in the lead. It has a peak viewer count far ahead of the second place game, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
But does that mean you should drive traffic to LoL betting offers? Not necessarily. Despite its huge viewership, games like Counter-Strike 2 actually generate much more revenue — in part because the audience aligns better with the typical esports betting user profile.
Generally, you can choose almost any game for your campaign. The key is to analyze who’s watching that game and when major tournaments happen. For example, The International — the biggest Dota 2 tournament — takes place around the same time every year. It’s a major event that lasts over a week, including qualifiers, group stages, and more.
So if you prepare your ad campaign in advance, you’ll have the chance to earn massive profits throughout the tournament!
Where to get traffic?
When driving traffic to esports betting offers, you’ll quickly notice that this niche differs significantly from traditional betting. While traditional campaigns often rely on targeted or even scheme traffic, TikTok can be a brilliant traffic source for esports.
The TikTok funnel works like this:
- Create a TikTok channel where you post highlights from tournaments or memes with popular influencers — basically anything that grabs attention and resonates with fans of a specific game;
- Redirect traffic to a Telegram channel. There, you offer bonuses for registration and start warming up the audience;
- From there — to a pre-landing page for deeper warm-up, or straight to the landing page.
- In general, video content performs really well in this niche. You can use TikTok, YouTube, or even Instagram Reels to drive traffic.
You can also hunt for traffic on Reddit, especially if you’re aiming for free traffic only.
Traditional sources like contextual and targeted ads still work. But the cost of advertising raises concerns. You might also face issues launching your campaigns — something to keep in mind from the start.
Esports betting: how do advertisers pay?
The payment models in this niche are identical to what we see in traditional betting. Affiliates can get paid via:
- CPA – a payout is made when the traffic completes a target action, such as placing their first bet or registering on the bookmaker’s site;
- RevShare – the advertiser shares a portion of the profit with you, which usually means the losses of the player you referred;
- Hybrid model – a mix of CPA and RevShare: you earn from both the initial conversion and the player’s future losses.
Of course, the hybrid model looks the most profitable — and it usually is. But these conditions are reserved for trusted partners, so you’ll need to prove your worth to access such deals.
Conclusion
Esports betting is a type of betting that has grown into an independent niche. While it shares a lot with its “predecessor,” there are fundamental differences — different audiences, different working traffic sources, and more. So if you’re looking for an alternative to classic betting, esports betting should definitely be on your radar.
Have you ever driven traffic to esports betting offers? Share your experience in our Telegram community, where we discuss everything that matters in the world of affiliate marketing!
As always, respectfully yours – Your Geek!