Hello, dear community! Messengers are a relatively new traffic source that affiliates are still mastering. And the companies behind messaging apps are actively supporting this. A great example is Telegram Ads — an ad network from “Telegram” itself, which you can even use to promote gambling offers. How does it all work? Find out in our overview!
Before we begin, don’t forget we’ve already talked about how to drive traffic from messengers. Worth checking out!
What is Telegram Ads and how does it work?
Telegram Ads is an advertising network that allows you to run ads on Telegram — quite obviously. You’re probably already familiar with the ad format: these are short, native-style messages that blend seamlessly into the content of the channel being viewed by the user.
Now let’s look at how to actually launch a campaign.
Launching ads through the dashboard
To advertise your product using Telegram Ads, you first need to register on the official site of the ad network. However, note: this is just one option. If you already have a Telegram account, you only need to enter the phone number linked to it. If you don’t — who even are you, seriously?
Next, you’ll receive a message in Telegram asking you to confirm login. Then go back to the ad platform and complete your profile: enter your full name, contact details, and address.
And voila! You can now start setting up your first ad. It looks like this:
Unfortunately, you can’t add creatives just yet — only text. But you can use emojis to grab a little more attention for your message.
Traffic from the ad is directed to the Telegram channel you specify in the ad. Interestingly, you can also list specific Telegram channels and bots where you want your ad shown. This unique feature allows you to better segment traffic and redirect it from relevant sources.
Payments are made using TON — Telegram’s own cryptocurrency, which can be purchased inside the app or on exchanges. You can set daily limits and even CPM bids, which kinda hints at an RTB system.
Your ad first goes to moderation, and once approved, it starts running. All that’s left is to monitor performance and ensure your money is generating traffic.
A downside of using the ad dashboard is the lack of targeting for Ukraine, Germany, Israel, Palestine, and “country 404”.
But you can bypass this by launching ads using Stars — Telegram’s internal currency. All you need is for the channel you want to promote to have enough Stars on its balance. Then you can run ads even in countries that aren’t available through the Telegram Ads dashboard!
Telegram Ads currently supports payments in euros, TON, and Stars. Euro dashboards are the most profitable for advertisers, but you’ll need to go through an agency and pay 5–15% in commission on deposits.
With TON, you can advertise channels or drive traffic to affiliate offers. But crypto dashboards don’t share auctions with euro dashboards. You can definitely get results, although there are GEO and min deposit restrictions.
Stars were originally designed for channel admins, but affiliates quickly caught on. The auction is still relatively open and can perform well with the right approach. There are downsides though: Stars only become available in your ad account after a 21-day hold period.
Author of the “Affiliate Journalist” channel
Driving gambling traffic via Telegram Ads
Now to the most interesting part: how to drive gambling traffic through Telegram Ads. Since the flow goes through a Telegram channel, you can implement lots of different funnels, such as:
- Redirect scheme traffic: create a channel that talks about beating casinos and redirect users to the offer;
- Use a bot to deliver additional bonuses and warm up traffic even more;
- Retention marketing: interact directly with leads, motivating them to take action on your offer;
- Drive traffic to chats or communities, where you can later promote not just gambling but other offers as well — a common strategy especially in sweeps.
No matter the method, the basic strategy is the same: first, create a Telegram channel that will receive the traffic. This can be a chatbot, a community, a content channel, etc.
The key is direct interaction with the user to spark interest in the offer before they even hit the landing page. A classic warm-up: prompt users to click bot buttons, unlock a bonus for registering, and so on.
Selecting source channels
Pay special attention to the ability to specify which channels you want your ad shown in — this lets you target relevant audiences right away.
Sadly, many third-party analytics platforms that provide subscriber stats are Russian. However, you can use Telemetrio — a paid but informative, user-friendly, and Ukrainian service.
You can also buy direct ads in those channels to drive even more traffic — but that’s a bit beyond the scope of this article.
Creatives
Although you can’t use creatives in the Telegram Ads message itself, you can absolutely use them on the page the ad leads to.
You’ll need to prepare:
- Landing and pre-landing pages where the traffic from your channel will go. These should both warm up the lead and close the sales funnel;
- Videos or GIFs — for example, showing big wins, especially in popular slots. These convert well for relevant audiences;
- CTA (Call To Action) based on promos — motivate users to act with time-limited bonuses like “Today only: get 30 extra free spins for registering.”
We covered which creatives work best for gambling in a separate article.
Campaign optimization
The most important thing is optimization. Telegram Ads is still a relatively new — even raw — tool. So yes, it’s possible to run at zero and not make a dime. To avoid that, we recommend:
- Start with small budgets to get a feel for how the system works;
- Pay close attention to daily limits;
- Use UTM tags to better understand your traffic sources;
- Analyze your sources and experiment with different targeting channels (if you’re using them, of course).
It won’t be a walk in the park, that’s for sure. But for now, while competition isn’t sky-high, you can still get a lot of traffic for relatively low costs. Don’t forget you can also save on Stars and related ad costs.
Is it legal to promote gambling via Telegram Ads?
Telegram doesn’t directly prohibit gambling promotion. In fact, some online casinos operate successfully right on the platform — seriously.
However, certain restrictions may apply depending on the laws of the country where your traffic is coming from. In that case, it’s not a Telegram moderator you’ll be answering to — it’s the law.
Also, be cautious when using scheme traffic. If users start complaining that you’re scamming misleading them, you risk losing not just your campaign but your entire channel. Be smart!
I’ve been watching gambling ads on TG Ads almost since launch. Initially, affiliates used TON for iGaming creatives — but major GEOs like Germany were closed off.
Recently, there’s been a big spike in ads from euro dashboards. Some advertisers even use rich creatives with images and video. Usually, agencies allow these with a minimum deposit of $5,000 + a safety deposit to cover risk.
Unfortunately, there are no public case studies of gambling campaigns from euro dashboards. But I can confidently say results are there. Maybe not millions in FDs, but brand awareness for licensed casinos is getting a solid boost.
Author of the “Affiliate Journalist” channel
Conclusion
All in all, driving traffic through Telegram Ads to gambling offers is very convenient and effective. Sure, redirecting traffic first to a channel and only then to the offer adds a step to the funnel. But we see this not as a problem, but as an opportunity — an opportunity to warm up your leads even more and boost your conversion rate.
What do you think? Have you worked with Telegram Ads before, and how did that go? Share your thoughts in our Telegram community, where we discuss this and other affiliate topics!
With respect, your Geek!