As SiGMA Wrapped Up the Year, One Poll Revealed What Really Drives Us to Conferences

SiGMA was the last big conference of the year, the final sprint, the final coffees, the final “let’s catch up next week” promises, and the final moment to read the room before 2026 kicks off

Just before Sigma, we ran a LinkedIn poll, and the results are telling. 75% said their main goal at conferences is networking and partnerships. Everything else, closing deals, discovering tools, and learning from experts, barely made a dent.

It confirmed what many of us already feel but rarely say out loud.

1. Conferences are no longer just events, they’re the industry’s meeting point

As SiGMA wrapped up the conference season, it felt like we’d pushed the last big round of relationship-building into a few intense days. These events are basically our real boardrooms, because in iGaming, partnerships don’t happen behind desks, they happen between stands, over dinners, and in those unplanned conversations you weren’t expecting but absolutely needed.

2. Deals don’t get closed at conferences, they get created

Only 11% said they attend to close deals. And that’s accurate. At conferences nobody walks in with a contract, but many walk out with the beginning of something.

Deals start with trust, and trust starts with a conversation. Chemistry. Energy. Whether someone “gets it” without you needing to over-explain.

That’s the real closing.

3. Tech discovery matters, but people still want the conversation first

Another 11% said they are there to discover new tools and tech. Which is fair: 2025 brought huge shifts: AI, tracking policy changes, and new compliance demands.

But even with the most advanced tools on display, people don’t choose tech on features alone. They choose based on clarity, transparency, and the people behind it. They choose based on trust, and trust isn’t built in a demo room.

4. Learning from experts? Valuable — but not the main attraction

Panels, keynotes, workshops… great additions. But the truth is: most of the meaningful learning happens after the sessions — in the corridors, over a drink, or when someone says, “Let me tell you what’s really happening behind the scenes.”

This is why speaking at events matters, not for the stage time, but for the conversations it sparks.

It reinforces something we’ve always known: Relationships come first. Technology is the enabler, not the replacement. Partnerships drive ROI long before the software does.

We don’t show up just with a product. We show up with a team. With transparency. With accountability. Because the ecosystem still runs on people, not just platforms.

SiGMA closed the year with the same message our poll highlighted: Conferences are where the industry connects, resets, and recharges. The deals, the tech, the insights, they all come after. The relationships come first.

Our recent poll shows a clear trend: Server-to-Server (S2S) tracking is leading the way with 56% of votes, while First-party cookies sit at 11%, Fingerprinting at 6%, and almost 30% of respondents remain unsure.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the “cookie-less future,” and as Vlad Bondarenko pointed out in the comments, affiliate tracking has been moving away from cookies for years.  That’s true – to an extent.

But the reality is that many operators still rely on first-party cookies to temporarily store tokens, session data, or click IDs before firing a postback.

So even in a so-called “S2S” setup, the cookie hasn’t disappeared entirely – it’s just evolved into a first-party dependency rather than a third-party one. And that distinction matters.

Because the real question isn’t whether cookies exist or not – it’s where the data lives, who controls it, and how reliably it’s tied back to conversions once attribution and compliance layers come into play. This is where the industry is still split:

• Some are ready for fully server-side, first-party ecosystems.
• Others are still mixing old and new methods – hybrid models that work, but with grey zones in data integrity and transparency.

At MyAffiliates, we’ve seen both sides up close – and we’re focused on helping operators bridge that gap with flexible, hybrid tracking models that ensure accuracy and compliance without losing visibility or performance.

The cookie might be fading, but the complexity of tracking isn’t going anywhere. What’s changing is how much control operators and affiliates have over the data that powers their decisions.

Over the past 18 months, AI-driven search tools such as Bing Chat, ChatGPT, and Perplexity have begun to influence how users discover content and brands. To understand whether this shift is impacting affiliate marketing, a comparative analysis was conducted on traffic, impressions, clicks, and registrations across January to July 2024 and the same period in 2025, along with an isolated look at traffic coming specifically from AI-driven sources.

The data shows a clear upward trajectory in AI-generated activity. In January 2025, AI-driven hits were just over 1,000. By May, that number had climbed beyond 10,500 before settling at around 9,000 by July. Visitor numbers grew at a slower pace, stabilising at approximately 7,000 per month. This indicates that while AI interfaces are increasingly acting as a discovery layer, not all hits translate into unique traffic. Still, the growth highlights that AI referrals are no longer marginal — they represent a measurable and growing part of the traffic mix.

When looking at overall system performance, impressions in 2025 significantly outpaced those of 2024. Several months pushed close to 200 million impressions, compared to averages of 150–170 million the previous year. Click volumes remained remarkably strong in both years, consistently hovering around the billion mark per month. Registrations also held steady, between 2.8 and 3.3 million monthly, underscoring that user conversion remained resilient despite shifts in browsing behaviour.

A closer examination by geography adds another dimension. Established markets showed signs of levelling out in 2025, while emerging markets recorded notable growth. Much of this growth is occurring in mobile-first regions, aligning with the broader trend of AI-enabled search being most widely adopted on smartphones. This mobile-driven adoption provides an additional signal that affiliates and operators need to optimise strategies with device behaviour in mind.

Several important themes emerge from this analysis. AI-driven search is no longer experimental traffic — it has scaled rapidly and is already delivering meaningful volumes. However, sheer numbers are only part of the story. The slower growth in unique visitors compared to raw AI hits suggests that measuring quality is as important as measuring quantity. Affiliates that continue to rely solely on last-click attribution risk overlooking the role that AI-driven interfaces play earlier in the discovery process.

The overall takeaway is that AI is reshaping the affiliate landscape faster than many anticipated. Affiliates and operators who adapt their attribution models, strengthen analytics, and refine content strategies for an AI-first environment will be better positioned to benefit. Conversion remains stable today, but the mix of where and how traffic is sourced is clearly shifting.

At MyAffiliates, monitoring these changes is central to ensuring that partners have visibility not just on traffic volumes but on how that traffic behaves and converts in an evolving digital environment. The role of AI in affiliate marketing is no longer a question of “if,” but of “how fast” and “how deep” the impact will be felt.

The latest MyAffiliates poll asked: “What do you think has the biggest impact on player conversion rates?” Here’s how the community voted:

• Trust & Brand Reputation – 44%
• Website UX & Speed – 33%
• Bonuses & Promotions – 13%
• Personalised Marketing – 10%

The outcome is telling. For a long time, the prevailing belief in iGaming has been that bonuses and promotions are the most effective way to attract and convert players. Yet, our poll suggests otherwise. Today, trust and brand reputation are considered the top factors influencing conversions. This aligns with what we’ve been observing across the industry: players have become more cautious, more informed, and more selective. They want to engage with brands they can trust – operators that demonstrate reliability, fairness, and integrity. Without that trust, even the most generous bonus will struggle to convert.

Close behind is website UX and speed, with one-third of the votes. It’s clear that players are not willing to tolerate slow, clunky, or confusing websites. A polished, fast-loading, and intuitive platform can make the difference between a player depositing or abandoning the journey. In a competitive space where first impressions matter, smooth experiences are non-negotiable.

Bonuses and promotions, despite their history as the industry’s conversion engine, only scored 13%. This suggests they are no longer a differentiator in the same way. They may still play a role in acquisition, but they need to be combined with trust and seamless experiences to truly drive conversions.

Lastly, personalised marketing at 10% shows that while targeting and tailored messaging are valuable, they can only work if the fundamentals are in place. Without trust and a user-friendly experience, personalisation risks falling flat.

The bigger picture is clear:

• Conversion is increasingly shaped by long-term brand building rather than short-term promotional tactics.
• Technology and user experience remain critical enablers for success.
• And above all, trust is the currency that drives sustainable growth.

The industry needs to rethink conversion strategies for 2025 and beyond. Players are demanding more than just incentives – they are seeking trusted brands, reliable platforms, and seamless experiences. Those who put trust, performance, and player-first strategies at the heart of their operations will be the ones leading the way forward.

Operators are reviewing their acquisition mix and, in some cases, deciding that affiliates no longer align with their priorities. Betfair framed its exit as a “strategic realignment” — a corporate way of saying affiliates weren’t part of their future plans.

At the same time, the cost of operating affiliate programs has gone up significantly. In the UK, Germany, and certain US states, compliance requirements and taxation are squeezing margins. Some programs, like GlobaliGaming Partners, simply decided it was no longer worth it.

What makes it even more worrying is the situation on the smaller operator side. Many of them are simply running out of money. The rush to launch brands through white label platforms has created a new wave of underfunded businesses. On the one side, white label providers — often data and tech suppliers — are betting on small brands, hoping they’ll catch traction. On the other hand, operators see a shortcut to entering the market without the capital or infrastructure required for a full-scale operation.

The problem is that most of these ventures never gain meaningful traction. Affiliates are brought on board, traffic is sent, but when the operator struggles financially, the affiliate program is often the first thing to go. That leaves affiliates unpaid and programs shuttered. It’s a risky cycle: quick-money ambition from small operators, risky investments from suppliers, and little long-term stability.

Technology plays a role as well. Running an affiliate program requires proper tracking and reporting tools, and some operators are choosing to close down programs rather than invest in upgrading outdated systems.

None of these issues are new on their own, but they’re colliding all at once. Regulatory costs and taxes are rising, larger operators are trimming non-core channels, smaller operators are running out of funds or never gaining traction, white label experiments are proving to be fragile, and tech debt is making programs too expensive to run properly. The result is that affiliate programs are closing at a pace we haven’t seen for years.

For affiliates, the message is clear: diversify, don’t rely too heavily on a single program or small operator, and be cautious if a brand looks underfunded or “too good to be true.” Owning your own data and analytics is crucial, as is staying close to affiliate managers who may give early warnings when a program is struggling. Larger, established operators with proven compliance records may not always pay the highest CPAs, but they are far more likely to still be there next year.

Affiliate programs in iGaming are under pressure like never before. For the large brands, it’s about strategy and compliance. For the small operators, it’s often about money running out before they ever had a chance. And in between, white label experiments are proving to be a high-risk gamble that too often leaves affiliates exposed.

Adaptability and diversification are key for affiliates, while transparency and sustainability will decide which operators earn long-term trust. The ground is shifting, and it’s up to both sides to decide whether we emerge with a leaner, more sustainable ecosystem, or continue to see programs vanish overnight.

• A mix of both acquisition and retention – 58%
• Player retention – 37%
• Player acquisition – 5%
• Depends on the market – 0%

• Reporting tools that give affiliates visibility on player behaviour post-conversion
• Multi-brand tracking that reflects real retention dynamics
• Commission models that reward sustained activity, not just signups
• Affiliate campaigns optimised not just for clicks, but for quality and engagement

In a recent LinkedIn poll, MyAffiliates asked the affiliate marketing community how they feel about AI-generated content. The responses provide an interesting snapshot of where the industry stands today:

• 52% said it’s useful, but needs editing
• 21% believe it’s overhyped and manual is better
• 14% see it as a game-changer
• 14% are not sure yet

The majority view AI as a helpful productivity tool – but not a complete solution. This reflects how AI is being used across the affiliate space: to support and accelerate content workflows, not to replace the strategic thinking or creative input that makes content effective.

The conversation didn’t stop at the poll. Industry voices offered deeper insights into how AI is perceived and applied. Mark McGuinness iGaming Gen AI . pointed out that AI is still often viewed as a shortcut or a way to automate basic tasks. But he argues that it should be treated as foundational software—something that, like any system, requires good structure, clear inputs, and guided learning. Without that, results are inconsistent at best.

Ian Sims drew a distinction between two core use cases: the process of creating content, and the value of the content itself. AI can dramatically improve efficiency and productivity—especially when it comes to formatting, translations, and adapting content for different channels. But real value still depends on using AI to deliver authoritative, original insights—not just repackaged information.

Miles (Myron) Saacks raised a broader concern: that many in the industry are barely scratching the surface of what AI can actually do. While the technology can support everything from campaign optimisation to website generation, the average user still tends to focus on basic tasks like writing emails or drafting posts. This reflects a wider skills gap around AI adoption.

At MyAffiliates, the view is clear: AI has real potential when integrated intentionally into existing workflows. Tools like BoostBox are designed to assist affiliates in building and managing campaigns more efficiently, while still relying on human input for relevance, accuracy, and strategy. The takeaway from the poll—and the broader discussion—is that AI is evolving from novelty to necessity. But its impact will depend on how well businesses train their teams, define their frameworks, and apply the technology with purpose. In affiliate marketing, AI should be seen as a:

• Support tool for execution and productivity
• Mechanism for scaling repetitive content tasks
• Layer to enhance multi-language content delivery
• Partner in brainstorming and drafting—not strategy or messaging

As AI becomes more embedded in marketing operations, the challenge will shift from adoption to optimisation. For affiliate marketers, the focus should now be on using AI to enhance, not replace, what makes content genuinely engaging and effective.

So, as AI continues to reshape the way affiliate marketers create, manage, and scale content, the real question becomes: Are we ready to move beyond the basics and unlock its full strategic potential? Get in touch with our team or follow us on LinkedIn for more updates.

This month, we ran a poll on LinkedIn asking a simple question: “What’s the biggest challenge with affiliate tracking?”

Here’s how the responses broke down:

• Managing Multi-Brand Data – 43%
• Accuracy of Tracking/Reporting – 36%
• Fraud Prevention & Compliance – 21%
• Platform Integrations – 0%

Why Multi-Brand Data Management Tops the List

As affiliate marketing matures—especially in the iGaming space and other performance-driven verticals—companies often run multiple brands under one umbrella. Affiliates need unified access, and operators need consolidated performance insights without compromising data integrity.

But most tracking systems were originally designed for single-brand environments. Adapting to multi-brand setups often means:

• Complex tagging and user permission configurations
• Data segmentation challenges
• Reporting inconsistencies across brands or verticals

That’s where tracking software needs to evolve: towards more modular, scalable systems that natively support multi-brand logic.

The Ongoing Battle for Accuracy

The second biggest concern—tracking and reporting accuracy—is not surprising. Whether it’s cookie-based limitations, unreliable tagging, or server-side tracking gaps, even minor discrepancies can lead to major trust issues between affiliates and operators.

Transparency and precision aren’t just nice-to-haves anymore; they’re the currency of successful partnerships.

Fraud & Compliance: Still on the Radar

Although it ranked lower in this poll, fraud prevention and regulatory compliance remain critical—especially as jurisdictions tighten rules around responsible marketing, KYC, and GDPR. The best tracking platforms are increasingly adding built-in safeguards and flexible compliance tools.

No Love for Platform Integrations?

Interestingly, no one selected “Platform Integrations” as their top concern. That may reflect the industry’s progress in offering better APIs, data feeds, and plug-ins—but it could also mean that the real friction points lie deeper in the operational workflows, not just the tech stack.

How MyAffiliates Is Addressing These Challenges

At MyAffiliates, we’re prioritising:

• Native support for multi-brand environments
• Advanced filtering and report customisation tools
• Referral URL parsing and data validation layers
• Stronger affiliate audit trails and compliance controls

These results validate our roadmap and highlight what still needs attention across the industry.

Want to discuss how MyAffiliates can help you with these challenges? Get in touch with our team or follow us on LinkedIn for more updates.