The iGaming market in Europe is constantly evolving — new payment solutions, changing regulations, and shifting player behavior make it one of the most dynamic verticals for affiliates. To better understand what’s happening behind the scenes and how media buyers can stay ahead, ROIads team spoke with Dmitry from Royal Partners, who shared his insights on top-performing geos, reliable traffic sources, and upcoming trends for 2025.
Dmitry is the Head of the European Department at Royal Partners. His expertise covers ROW geos, traffic sources, and everything related to the European iGaming market.
Grab a coffee and dive in — Dmitry shared plenty of insights that can help you rethink your traffic strategy and boost results in 2025.
Dmitry, could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us what you do at Royal Partners?
Hello, everyone! I head a new division at Royal Partners that manages brands such as FRESH, SOL, JET, and IZZI. My role is to identify the most effective funnels across all our products through end-to-end analytics and scale them to our established brands. If you are used to our company’s multi-brand approach, my team takes a geo-targeted approach. We focus on optimization and new payment methods to help our established brands expand into untapped markets.
You are responsible for the European division. Tell us which geos are currently converting best in the iGaming niche.
This topic has always been and will remain relevant for any iGaming company — it’s a broad one. When it comes to conversion specifically, everything is highly individual and depends on the synergy between the product team, affiliates, and payment processing. Some iGaming platforms have cascading solutions, a simplified registration form, and advantages through agreements with strong payment solutions for primary transactions, while others do not. If we think more broadly, then those geos where cards account for the largest transaction turnover should convert excellently. In places where local solutions operating with large volumes appear, problems may arise due to local regulations.
Among the best-converting markets, I’d highlight Romania (RO), Greece (GR), Hungary (HU), Czech Republic (CZ), and Denmark (DK) — with cards and Apple/Google Pay available, conversions look great even without open banking. Let’s not forget about Canada (CA), Switzerland (CH), Austria (AT), and Portugal (PT), where local payment options for offshore licenses are still available.
The Importance of Reliable Traffic Sources
Why is it so important for media buyers in iGaming to work only with reliable traffic sources?
When it comes to reselling — especially through new CPA networks — it’s no secret that they often attract fraudulent activity, which was not previously paid for directly. If the history of the buying team is unclear, the reseller should think twice.
Other cases may relate to the purchase of traffic via smart links or obscure traffic-generating services of Indian origin, where your leads may be people performing actions for remuneration. Naturally, any advertiser will have questions about the funnel and quality. And if a media buyer has no idea about their funnel or source, sooner or later they will encounter payment problems, as their traffic will easily fall into the categories of motivated or fraudulent.
What characterises a reliable source that brings long-term benefits to both media buyers and operators?
A reliable source is one that balances the interests of both media buyers and operators: media buyers earn a stable income, and the operator receives high-quality traffic. It can be characterised by several key parameters: audience quality (real and solvent leads), data transparency (the ability to track the funnel and obtain analytics to optimise advertising campaigns), return on investment (the LTV of the source should not be lower than the purchase cost), stability and predictability (many would call the iGaming sector unpredictable, but we will stick to at least relevant short-term periods in this case) — invest and get a stable ROI.
Choosing the Right Sources
What are the key criteria when placing your iGaming offers?
The key criteria when placing iGaming offers may be:
- Geo, traffic source, and audience relevance — how well the offer matches the target country and audience.
- Product quality — a brand with clear UX, fast loading, mobile optimisation, and transparent terms (otherwise, traffic will not convert).
- Financial model — competitive terms, clear KPIs, stable payments without delays.
- Operator reliability – brand reputation, management support, analytics provided when needed.
- Scalability potential – the ability to not only run test volumes, but also increase traffic without restrictions – daily, weekly caps, budgets.
What red flags should make media buyers think twice before working with any network?
Basically, if a network lacks transparency, stability, or clear communication, media buyers should steer clear — even if it promises the moon.
- Opaque terms and conditions — no clear KPIs, hidden traffic restrictions.
- Payment issues — delays, unclear payment schemes, no guarantees.
- Poor analytics and tracking — if there are no proper tools for tracking conversions and traffic quality.
- Opaque reputation – few reviews, negative feedback from media buyers, lack of confirmed cases, lack of media coverage.
- Too ‘sweet’ conditions – promises of super profits without explaining the mechanics.
Geo and Market Insights
How does the choice of traffic source depend on a specific geo?
The choice of traffic source directly depends on geo, because each country has its own ecosystem. If we take PPC, the pool of geos that are alive has significantly decreased, but it still exists, contrary to the opinion that PPC is completely dead. It has simply become more difficult.
More specific examples are Asia and Latin America, where the audience is on messengers and local social networks (Line, KakaoTalk, Telegram), while Europe is more responsive to Google, Facebook, and in-app.
Some markets, like Germany (DE) and the United Kingdom (UK), have strict rules — you can’t just launch anything there, and ‘white’ sources such as SEO are more effective. SMS will work in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands (NL).
I would also highlight conditional arbitrage geos and geos with more loyal conversion requirements. Accordingly, France (FR) is more predisposed to arbitrage, and DACH is not the only one.
In which European geos is reliable traffic particularly important due to the local regulatory situation or high competition?
I would say that, in general, things are getting more and more interesting in Europe every year. Germany (DE) has local rules for online gambling, which is why many see the lack of Sofort as a problem. Here, more ‘white’ and less conversion-critical traffic is valued: SEO, influencers. The United Kingdom (UK) is one of the most mature markets, with high competition and strict UKGC control. However, geo-arbitrage and English-language keywords provide a lot of room to manoeuvre.
Spain (ES) and Italy (IT) have local advertising restrictions and high taxes, which makes quality traffic particularly valuable, as low-quality traffic will obviously show LTV below the base purchase cost. Sweden (SE), Denmark (DK), and Norway (NO) – the audience is solvent, but competition is fierce, so the situation is similar to Southern Europe. The Netherlands (NL) – recent changes in regulation, the market is just forming, and it is reliable sources that help to gain a foothold.
What advice would you give to entering new ROW markets in 2025?
First, you need to monitor key market operators and local regulations. Don’t rush to spend your entire budget – test, payouts, analytics, and only then scale up. Also, pay attention to the product itself – is it localised, does the operator share their expertise, do you have enough analytical data on your side?
The operator’s reputation, solvency, and history are no less important. In 2025, it is quite common to see fly-by-night brands with no financial foundation and limited budgets. As a result, the product goes bankrupt in 3-4 months, and all your payments evaporate. Therefore, it is worth considering only long-term and trusted operators.
Traffic Formats and Trends
Based on your internal data, which advertising formats (push, pop, native, social, etc.) are currently most effective for iGaming offers in Europe? Are there certain geos where certain formats perform better?
As a rule, the advertising format should be tailored to local habits and rules of a specific region.
- Push works well in Eastern Europe — Poland (PL), Romania (RO), Bulgaria (BG).
- Native and SEO are a must-have for Germany (DE), the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands (NL), and Scandinavia due to trust and strict regulation.
- Social (Meta, TikTok) works well in Southern Europe — Spain (ES), Italy (IT), Portugal (PT).
- In-app is growing rapidly in France (FR) and Germany (DE).
Have you noticed any recent trends in player behaviour that are changing approach to buying traffic in the iGaming sector?
Yes — and it’s exactly what you think: crash games. There are pure crashes, mixed crashes, crashes like this and crashes like that, semi-crashes, and crashes that aren’t really crashes 🙂 The LTV of crash players is always significantly lower than that of players who came through slot approaches. That is why operators do not want to pay a deliberately inflated rate for a player whose ceiling check will be 2 times lower in the forecast.
The internet is full of “success stories” claiming millions of deposits, and media buyers, of course, find it profitable to spend on a cheaper, more media-oriented and converting approach. It is easier to get creative content approved that does not natively match iGaming. But many need to finally understand that not all operators know how to work with this approach, retain players, and you will not get past the testing stage.
Not all operators have the ability to give bonuses for crashes, and not all have a funnel for transferring players from crashes to slots. The main problem is low LTV and motivation in redeployment. Find out in advance whether your operator is able to work with such traffic, whether there is technical support for players, and what LTX and xRR are in your geo for the product where you would like to launch an advertising campaign.
Cooperation Between Affiliate Programs and Ad Networks
How can affiliate programs such as Royal Partners and advertising networks such as ROIads work together to provide partners with profitable and secure traffic?
Royal Partners has always maintained its brand and had an excellent reputation in terms of payments and stability. Our department only offers geos and offers that promise stable conversion and effective ROI, which minimises the risk of negative balances for both parties.
In conjunction with ROIads, we are ready to offer market rates, share our expertise, and negotiate transparent and long-term deals for all traffic sources. Media buyers get profit and security, and we get high-quality players with high LTV and scalability.
Roya, Emotional Damage Officer & Supreme AI Arbitragist at ROIads
From your point of view, what are the most common mistakes media buyers make when choosing traffic sources — and how can they be avoided?
The most common mistakes made by media buyers are chasing cheap traffic without assessing its quality, ignoring geo-specifics, and poor analytics control. To avoid problems, you need to choose proven sources, take local characteristics into account, and constantly monitor results through tracking. Focus on crash games rather than slot approaches.
Conclusion
What can you recommend to partners who want to increase their iGaming traffic in 2025 while minimising risks? Name 3 ideas.
- In-app in combination with push notifications works, and it is even better if the push notifications are integrated on the operator’s side, which shifts the responsibility for redeemability from your shoulders to the product.
- TG, PPC — rapid growth in 3 months to 500 FTD with low purchase cost and decent ROI.
Planning to pour millions into crash traffic? Do your research first — don’t test blindly into testing, but go to those who have the right funnels and know how to work with them. Better yet, understand for yourself what your crash traffic should be playing on and sell your expertise.
