iGaming influencer marketing: targeting Tier 1

Tier 1 is the most coveted geo in both influencer and affiliate marketing. The reasons are pretty straightforward: high-quality traffic, a solvent audience, and strong engagement. However, targeting this geo comes with its own set of nuances, which we’ll discuss today.

Challenges in finding and selecting influencers

First and foremost, it's important to recognize that not all influencers are suitable for promoting gambling. The ideal influencer for the iGaming vertical is one whose audience aligns with the product's target demographic — primarily a financially capable male audience aged 20+. It's crucial to have a deep understanding of your audience and to search for influencers who already have experience in promoting gambling products. Their followers should be potentially interested in playing games, easy ways to make money and related topics. Choose influencers who have a proven track record in gambling promotion and know how to create high-quality content.

Secondly, driving traffic in the iGaming business is often complicated by a range of legal restrictions that can be difficult to navigate. One of the key challenges in Tier 1 markets is the very small percentage of streamers and influencers willing to work with gambling brands that don't have a local license. As a result, targeting Tier 1 geo can be challenging even for seasoned managers. Let’s find out why.

These influencers have high-quality channels that attract the exact target audience that many other brands are looking for: financially capable, thrill-seeking males aged 20+. It is not surprising that there are so many other brands that are willing to pay top dollar for advertising on these channels. This means that if gambling isn't creators’ niche content, influencers and streamers are more interested to work with gaming products rather than risk a strike by promoting gambling.

Social media platforms are extremely strict when it comes to gambling ads. If an influencer is caught promoting gambling, they automatically receive a strike. Three strikes lead to a permanent account ban.

There’s another category of influencers: they are willing to promote gambling but set strict time limits on how long the content stays up on their channel to protect themselves. Securing even a month-long integration with a Tier-1 YouTuber requires brands or agencies to invest a lot of time in negotiations.

The influencer's motivation is easy to understand: the longer the video stays on their channel, the higher the risk that moderators will spot the gambling ad, leading to a strike. Therefore, it's crucial to ensure that the content is as native as possible — this helps avoid potential bans and better engages the audience.

Search and discover influencers

There are two approaches to finding influencers to partner with: manual search and using analytical platforms and tools. At Famesters, we use our own developed product, along with several other tools, and of course, manual search. First, we prepare a comprehensive list of relevant influencers based on the client's requirements, such as audience demographics, content style, engagement rates, experience with similar products, and successful case studies from previous campaigns.

Do not work with influencers who don’t provide statistics, and be meticulous when reviewing these statistics. Always manually verify all the information provided by the influencer. Analyze everything: from comments below their videos and posts to comparing the influencer’s audience with the actual data. Download the raw statistics files, check the history of changes in editing programs, and zoom in on screenshots to inspect the pixels — if the data has been changed in a graphic editor, you’ll notice it. You can also request screencasts of the statistics, as videos are much harder to fake than screenshots.

Local license

A local gambling license is essential for legal operations in Tier 1 countries. Obtaining such a license involves meeting a range of stringent conditions and requirements, including proving the company’s financial stability, implementing responsible gaming policies, ensuring high levels of technical security and data protection, and addressing other specifics. A local license not only grants general permission to operate a casino but also includes a broadcasting license for gambling. The latter is even more challenging to obtain, as it allows operators to broadcast gambling activities across various media platforms, including social networks.

Gambling influencer marketing is also complicated by the fact that influencers rarely go beyond short integrations. This leads to several challenges:

• Limited creative possibilities and scarce information for the audience, as there’s often no opportunity to fully explain the product's advantages.
• Low user engagement, meaning few users actually take the desired action.
• A high risk that users will simply skip the integration.

Additionally, audiences often perceive short integrations as insincere, inauthentic, and untrustworthy.

However, a significant advantage is the high-quality production, as influencers know their audience well and present the gambling product in a way that maximizes engagement and drives the desired action.

Geos where you can successfully launch and achieve good volume

The most popular markets for gambling influencer marketing include Greece, Portugal (with the added benefit of reaching the Brazilian audience), Canada, Spain, and France. Turkey can also be included in this list— it is not a Tier-1 country, but it’s an expensive and popular geo for gambling.

Launch options

1. Collaborations with popular streamers on Twitch: Streamers showcase their gameplay in an online casino, share their strategies and experiences with their audience.
2. Informative video reviews on YouTube: Influencers create detailed reviews of various gambling platforms, covering bonuses, free spins, and the unique features of each platform.
3. Creative posts on Instagram and TikTok: Short videos demonstrating wins, gameplay, or explaining the rules of the game.
4. Classic media placements: Featuring logos and promo codes for bonuses in Instagram meme pages.

It's also crucial to keep up with trends and emerging platforms. For example, apart from YouTube and Twitch, we launch on Trovo, Kick, and others.

To conclude

Promoting gambling with Tier 1 influencers is a challenging task that requires careful planning, strict adherence to legal regulations, and a thoughtful selection of influencers. However, by considering all the geo-specific nuances during launch preparations, you can achieve significant results and attract a broad audience to your product.

Pay close attention to legal restrictions, meticulously prepare your brief, allow space for the influencer’s creativity, test different hypotheses, build long-term partnerships, and continuously analyze the outcomes. This approach will help you quickly adapt to changes and maximize the profit from your collaborations.

Image credit: Casino Guru News