The interview with Igor Affbuddha

One of the steady trends in iGaming 2024 is the development of influence marketing. This is logical, because it can quickly give organic traffic and often they are active players in the distance. The Alanbase team decided to know more about Influence marketing from the expert, and Alanbase invited Igor Affbuddha for an interview.

Alanbase is an affiliate management platform in iGaming that empowers operators and affiliates across Africa, Asia, and LatAm to harness the power of influence marketing. Our innovative features, like integrated QR codes and promo codes, turn influencer-driven organic reach into measurable, high-quality traffic. With Alanbase, you can seamlessly convert influence work into actionable results.

Igor Affbuddha – the owner of MIG Agency & VSTRECHA. 7+ years of experience in iGaming and internet marketing.

Regions where Igor works: worldwide. 

What you find in this article: 

• Influence marketing trends that will stay with us in 2025;
• top geos – where conversions are better;
• the most effective gambling social platforms; 
• how to grow a streamer and why it can take a long time to pay off; 
• how to improve results in Influence Marketing.

Alanbase:  Hi Igor, can you tell me, have you noticed any special trends in influence traffic in 2024? Is there something that is particularly popular or is it just gaining momentum and will fully unfold in 2025?

Igor Affbuddha: We can identify a few bright and clear trends that will be with us in 2025:

1. Micro- (from 50 000 to 150 000 subscribers) and nano influencers (below 50 000 subscribers), sometimes less 15 000, for example, comedians with fresh audiences. Smaller Influencers really care about quality content and advertising to increase the value of ad placements and build reputation. Big bloggers, on the other hand, often have an experienced old audience.

2. Targeted streamers and highly targeted bloggers show high engagement in niches.

3. Collaboration with AI characters, virtual influencers. If we talk about AI, then with its help you can make characters, generate interesting events, for example, a battle of slots.

4. Content localization. Each geo needs geographical adaptation. There are peculiarities of mentality, dialects, etc.; the language is similar, but the words and phrases differ. Even when describing in YouTube titles, we pay attention to the language and specific words. It is very important to know the specifics of the language/humor/pronunciation in a particular geo. We go to the freelance exchange and interview our potential players from specific geos: which phones they use, which shows they like, etc. We receive the data and compare it with the data provided by the advertiser, and then adjust the strategy.

5. Interactive formats. For example, a streamer dresses up to match the color of the slot or in New Year’s outfits. There may be different formats of interaction, for example, during a New Year’s stream, you can get a bag and raffle bonuses among chat participants, etc.

6. Long-term contracts. Exclusive deals are increasingly being concluded, including ambassadorships, semi-annual contracts, and contracts for native mention or merch in the frame.

When we sign a long-term contract with a streamer, we build a whole system around it, for example:

• SEO; 
• telegram channels;
• youtube channels with long videos and separately with shorts;
• FB fan pages; 
• X (twitter);
• The application is under ASP;
• all channels where you can post content.

Alanbase: Do you agree that big bloggers are losing relevance?

Igor Affbuddha: Not always, some show very good results, especially in the development of new products, as they can bring a previously unknown product to the large audience faster and more efficiently.

Alanbase: Please share the nuances of working in different geographies, is there anything that should be considered before entering a specific market, for example, the CIS, Latam, Africa, etc.

Igor Affbuddha: Each region has its own nuances, and there is high competition in the CIS. The situation is further complicated by regulations, and if you work with an unlicensed product, it can lead to problems with the law. Many CIS streamers leave for other countries and work from there, as the CIS is a grey area for casinos. Betting or binary options are much easier and safer to promote.

Here, trust in local influencers plays a crucial role, among the famous ones are Zubarev, Khovansky, and Mellstroy. Everyone knows them and forces them, it is important to mention the format of interactive interaction, which increases trust and is developed in Russian-speaking streaming, for sure you have seen Mellstroy’s face in reels more than once, etc.

If we talk about Latam, the emphasis is on localization and emotional involvement. People here actively use social networks, Whatsapp, and like to browse content. If you bought an ad from one streamer, expect their friends to come to you after a while. Also, in Latam, you need to actively monitor the state of the audience and the laws (for example, in Brazil) and objectively assess the need to access this geo.

Alanbase: Let’s compare popular traffic sources, such as SEO, etc. What do you think are the advantages of influence traffic and why?

Igor Affbuddha: Everything should go hand in hand, streamers fill the Internet with their tags and reach the top of the search results. If you write the names of popular streamers now, you will immediately catch them in the search results. And if you have an SEO website with the same tags, it will also organically rise to the top. YouTube and any other formats are seamlessly combined with SEO.

Alanbase: Which platforms (YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, etc.) are currently the most effective for promoting in this niche?

Igor Affbuddha: Everything is effective, the streamer should use all the features and post his or her videos/posts/links everywhere. For example, if it’s X, then it can be native. The real case in X: you start with interesting stories and facts, then you upload links to shorts, reels, videos, reviews, etc.

If we talk about streaming, YouTube and Twitch will remain in the first place and will continue to grow. Betting is progressing very well on such platforms. Gambling can get banned on Youtube, so you need to have backup channels on different platforms. Many people use KICK as a backup platform. Plus, even on YouTube, it’s important for a streamer to separate channels so as not to lose everything at once.

Alanbase: Can AI replace humans on streams?

Igor Affbuddha: Right now, an AI avatar is a cool way to scale a business, test hypotheses, and translate videos or creos into multiple languages, but it won’t replace streamers. A person needs a person and lively emotions. Many, for example, feel that the streamer is playing on “candy wrappers” and lose interest in watching. There is no question of replacing humans with AI, but it is actively developing, and the situation may change in the foreseeable future.

Alanbase: If we talk about personnel, do you grow them by yourself, for example, casino streamers, etc. If so, how long does it take?

Igor Affbuddha: We grow them independently, and the preparation period is from 1 to 3 months, depending on the initial experience and skills. There is a procedure for learning: 

1. You show the channels of good streamers. 
2. You study the rules and terms, for example, what is a bonus, respin, auto-game, provider, etc.
3. We give him or her the balance and send him or her to play. I’m talking about the platform and the emotions that need to be played out, what words need to be said. 
4. I leave it in the frame for 15-20 minutes, then watch the video. 
5. Training streams take place during the month, off-air, without viewers. 
6. We upload and test these videos, evaluate whether the hero has entered the audience and whether there are views. 
7. We launch it if everything starts spinning within 1 month, we build social networks around it, fill in other channels.
8. If we have a budget, we purchase a raid from another streamer (at the end of the broadcast, the streamer sends their viewers to the channel their advertisers).
9. At the same time, we are looking for and growing other streamers.

The payback depends on the niche. If we talk about commissions, then with RevShare you can make a profit for 3 months, and with CPA it all depends on you, how quickly you create telegram channels, hire a sales manager, etc.

Alanbase: Can you give me an example of a successful interaction with a streamer and the numbers?

Igor Affbuddha: For sure! 

What we have: 

● GAMBLING STREAMER 

● 44K subscriptions 

● platform – Twitch  

● geo – Argentina 

● $100-$160/stream

Results: 

● 10 streams

● $1300 — 667 regs 

● reg2dep — 22,94% 

● 153 FD 

● FD SUM — 1344,92 USD

● RD — 254 

● RD SUM — 1958,3 USD 

● NGR — 864,83 USD

Alanbase: It’s a good result, but do you think new platforms or formats may appear in 2025 that will turn the market around?

Игорь Affbuddha: I think so, they are already making local platforms where a lot of the audience is sitting, for example, NUUM.

Alanbase: How to avoid reputational risks when working with influencers?

Игорь Affbuddha: Everything has to be legally spelled out and huge fines have to be made, up to and including the inability to streamer if the information is critical to your business.

Alanbase: What are the risks if you start working with an experienced streamer? 

Игорь Affbuddha: It is possible to miss the audience and wait a long time for payback, an example is Polina Luxury Girl. Her audience was focused on dating, so in her case it took quite a long time to rebuild, which is why advertisers most often want 30+ years old men.

Alanbase: How can you help a streamer to improve their performance?

Игорь Affbuddha: It’s essential that you give information: 

• gender, age, time of maximum audience activity;
• you need to have information of conversions and earnings in front of your eyes;
• bonuses, hot slots, what’s best to play, e.g. tier 3 prefer Aviator and Fortune Tiger, and tier 1 prefer Sweet Bonanza and Gates of Olympus;
• the payment solutions that work in this region; 
• what platform the games are on;
• whether the casino has the most popular games in the geo; 
• how the retention department works. 

Alanbase: How high-quality an audience are such streamers attracted to? How long does she stay at the casino and how well does she make her readers?

Игорь Affbuddha: This is an audience that can be controlled. Here you can influence the quality of players, allow a story, a stream, post a competition, a challenge, etc. The audience is alive and comes back well if you work with it properly.

Alanbase: Do you think it’s necessary to use affiliate software when working with streamers?

Игорь Affbuddha:  Yes, the streamer manager 100% should have all the metrics in front of their eyes. Streamer should have access to the numbers, see his or her earnings and additional information. And the streamer manager with the help of extended stats helps to adjust the strategy and improve results.

Alanbase: It was fascinating. Thank you for the interview, Igor!

If you want to work with influence traffic, you need to have a platform that will help you improve your performance. Alanbase can be such a platform, because Alanbase has 1-window management of: affiliates, offers, analytics and payments.

To see Alanbase, sign up for a demo call with the manager. During the demo Alanbase will gather your affiliate program requirements to assemble and prepare a work plan for the period of free 14-day access without credit card linkage.