1/ What's the 'easiest' way to build a business & start making money in the new, regulating USA online sportsbook and casino space?

👇 Random musings on the topic triggered by a few press releases last week for anyone thinking about entering the business side of iGaming.
2/ When PASPA was originally repealed, I remember the flood of decks that came to me, directly or indirectly, from a host of aspiring startups that were going to disrupt (🤷‍♂️) the USA betting space.
3/ Most decks were for the operation of a betting site with a 'unique' twist, examples:

A) Betting exchange (see: Wire Act liquidity issues; ecology management thread 👇)

B) Tinder / social for betting (see: SimpleBet's 1st pitch; @gamblinglamb to explain why this a winner) https://twitter.com/_/status/1291411710377590787
4/ Some were just standard sportsbook goldrush decks similar to what occurred with DFS circa 2015, but all missed a key aspect of operating these new verticals in the USA — it 👏 costs 👏 a 👏 lot 👏 of 👏 money!
5/ State-by-state regulations, licensing fees, market access partners, league deals, data deals, marketing bleed, local databases, incumbent betting brands, physical assets, etc.

This just isn't a startup market for operators (unless crazily funded).
6/ So, where does that leave you?

You can go the B2B route ( @Bet_Works, @SimplebetHQ current iteration) or the data route (again costly) if you have technical capabilities & want to avoid consumer marketing.

Or to where I was originally planning w/ this thread:

::AFFILIATES::
7/ So, what's a gaming affiliate?

An affiliate gets paid for referring real-money players to an online sportsbook, casino, etc.
8/ Affiliates can be big companies ( @catenamedia, @BetterCollectiv). When we sold @enPokerStrategy in 2013, we were doing something like $100m revenue, $30m EBITDA, & 300+ employees.
9/ But affiliates can also be one-man shops that are servicing an area or niche that's typically underserved.
10/ Here's a breakdown of the typical affiliates:

- Communities
- Education / Odds / Stats
- Content / News
- Influencer
- Real-world
- SEO / Review Sites / Givebacks

These aren't ranked, but from the operator's viewpoint, SEO / giveback is definitely the least synergistic.
11/ I'm heavily biased here from my PokerStrategy days, but my favorite type of affiliate is the education community. For those in DFS, think @rotogrinders. In poker, @pocketfives.

👉 @CalSpears for all "how to continually start a successful community" questions.
12/ The education community typically taps areas of all other competing affiliate businesses. You get education via the community discussion, which creates content & SEO, or coachings, which creates influential talent that helps you acquire more members.
13/ The education community approach is invaluable for an operator since it doesn't directly compete with my paid marketing spend and typically comes with users that are easier to retain due to their continued involvement in the community.
14/ As an operator, my least favorite was the SEO / rankings / giveback sites. While this approach can be extremely profitable for those skilled at the content and distribution mechanic, I always viewed this as direct competition w/ my own internal marketing teams.
15/ I will caveat this by saying some were much better at driving qualified traffic given their ability to concentrate their niche, so I'd always gauge the fixed cost per acquisition (CPA) vs. our internal avg. If less, 📈. If more, 📉.
16/ Whichever area you want to concentrate is dependent on your skillset and interest. Just find your niche and exploit it as much as possible. Some examples:

Tools: @FantasyLabs @SportsInsights
News & Analysis: @LSPReport @pokerfuse
Content Creator: @Joeingram1 @outkick
17/ As part of building your audience, I would suggest that you look into the states and regions that are up & coming. As states turn on iGaming, having an established audience can help you maximize revenue during one of the most competitive times for an operator.
18/ When it comes to monetizing your traffic, members, or subscribers via affiliate earnings, you typically have two options:

CPA or Revenue Share

I'll caveat this that CPA is the standard here in the USA for sportsbook/casino due to licensing requirements for revenue share.
19/ Either of these methods is typically going to be more profitable for you vs. a standard subscription model. I'd be really interested in hearing which, if any, gaming affiliates have turned more revenue from subscription (even w/ the recurring) vs. referral monetization.
20/ Given this length already, I'll save a breakdown of CPA vs. revenue share from the affiliate and operator mentality for another post. The goal here will be looking to maximize both your profitability and your relationship with the operator for long-term success.
21/ TLDR; To become an affiliate find your niche, build your audience, refer that audience to sportsbook/casino, work in tandem with the operator to maximize your long-term profits.
You can follow @mattprimeaux.
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