Today we continue our recap of our contribution to the 2018 EGR Affiliate Report, which explores the results of our most recent affiliate marketing survey. In part one, which you can read here, we looked at the make-up of our survey respondents and the post-PASPA landscape from an affiliate perspective. In the second and final part, we look at the results concerning emerging verticals, social media and the UKGC and GRPR.

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Verticals

The excitement surrounding PASPA’s repeal can perhaps be held partly responsible for shifts that our survey highlighted with regards to verticals of focus. When asked what major verticals they are currently focused on promoting, affiliate responses pushed eSports (16%), US sportsbook (13%) and daily fantasy sports (DFS) (13%) towards the bottom tier of the list.

However, when asked which they are considering promoting in the future, eSports (34%) finished in the top spot just ahead of sportsbook (31%), while DFS matched casino at 26%, and US sportsbook reached 22%. This marked a significant increase compared to the 2017 results for both eSports (25%) and DFS (15%).

Sportsbook’s 31% makes it the only vertical to have reached that total in each of the last three surveys in terms of future promotional consideration. For verticals that affiliates currently promote, casino (56%) and sportsbook (47%) were the two most popular choices for the third successive year.

UKGC & GDPR

“What is GDPR?” With the passage of time, an increasing number of industry stakeholders will be equipped to provide a comprehensive response to that question. Given the inherent complexity of such a crucial issue, we asked affiliates to describe their familiarity with GDPR and its industry impact.

An indicator of that growing awareness is the 27% of respondents who said they have a “comprehensive” understanding of GDPR. That was good enough to make it the most popular response, followed by “working knowledge” and “somewhat lacking”, each of which received 23%. Another 17% of respondents said they were “above average” while 7% chose “severely lacking”.

Affiliates were also asked their thoughts on the UKGC’s firming commitment to social responsibility.  Respondents indicated that the UKGC’s actions have been relatively well-received as 43% described them as being “adequate”, while another 13% selected “ideal”. Only 3% said that the body has not been strong enough, while those who found its handling to be excessive totaled 13%. Another 23% said that their opinion is still to be determined.

Social Media

Questions pertaining to social media efforts for both the present and future also yielded interesting results. Last year Facebook was the top selection for both current activities and future initiatives, while Twitter trailed by 13% for each question.  This year saw those positions swapped as 75% of respondents said they currently use Twitter compared with 66% for Facebook.

When asked which channel they expect to focus on more through the remainder of 2018 and into 2019, 72% selected Twitter while 63% chose Facebook. This question also saw favorability rise for YouTube (+27%), Instagram (+3%) and Snapchat (+3%) compared to 2017 results.

In assessing this year’s results, we are again buoyed by the industry’s continuing evolution, achieved by turning inbound challenges into opportunities bursting with potential. We’re also inspired by evidence that signifies the need for increasingly contemplative lines of questioning that recognise egaming’s growing complexity and maturation.

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We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading our contribution to the 2018 EGR Affiliate Report. Do you have any thoughts that you would like to share regarding the topics discussed? What vertical(s) are you planning to promote in the near future ? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.