Alex Pratt on the evolution of iGB Affiliate

• You were part of the team that launched the first incarnation of the event, CAP Euro London Affiliate Conference, back in 2007. What do you see as the biggest differences between the event then and now?  

The most obvious difference is the scale. The first event was a fraction of the size it is today. The stands were smaller, attendees were far fewer, and it felt much more informal. Affiliates were often part-time rather than the professional businesses we see now and they were not always treated as strategically important by operators.    

The channel mix was also very different. Poker was the dominant vertical, whereas today it is much more diversified. 

It is also worth remembering the timing. The event launched shortly after the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), which created a strong focus on non-English speaking and emerging markets. What has remained consistent is the event's role as a meeting point, but the industry around it has matured dramatically.   

• 2025 was arguably the most eventful year for iGaming affiliates in some time, if not in the 19 years that have elapsed since that first event. What do you see as the most significant and potentially long-lasting disruptors?   

The biggest disruptors have been structural rather than cyclical. Google algorithm changes and the rise of AI have fundamentally altered how traffic is discovered and monetised, and that is unlikely to reverse. Regulation has also continued to tighten across many markets, raising barriers to entry and pushing affiliates to be more professional.   

At the same time, we have also seen many consolidations, with fewer but larger affiliate businesses operating across multiple geographies and channels. The net effect is that reliance on a single traffic source or market is no longer viable. Affiliates are being forced to diversify their acquisition strategies, build brands rather than just sites and invest more heavily in partnerships and direct relationships.  

• Search visibility on Google not translating into the same volume of clicks is also impacting B2B as well as affiliate publishers. How is Clarion Gaming adapting, and how important are the live events here?   

Clarion Gaming has had to adapt in much the same way as affiliates and publishers. Search visibility alone is no longer enough, which makes owned platforms and direct relationships more important. That is where live events play a critical role. They create trust, visibility and commercial opportunity in a way that digital alone cannot replicate.   

Events also feed the digital ecosystem by generating content, insight and connections that live year-round on platforms like iGBAffiliate.com. Rather than seeing digital and events as separate, the focus is on making them reinforce each other, with events driving community and digital platforms extending that value before and after the show.  

• We are seeing a lot of B2B publishers crossing into the affiliate space by launching casino review pages. Isn’t Clarion tempted to leverage iGBAffiliate.com’s authority into the B2C space, as some competitors are doing? 

There is a live debate right now about B2B media brands moving into the player acquisition space and it is not a route we plan to go down. I understand why some competitors are doing it and that is a choice for their business model, but I do not see it as a long-term strategy.   

My concern is less about monetisation but more about trust. Once a trade brand starts ranking casinos or driving B2C traffic, it inevitably raises questions around editorial balance, integrity and transparency.  

There’s also the risk of competing directly with your core customer, which in our case is the affiliate. Finally, it creates a confusing user journey by blurring the line between industry insight and consumer acquisition. For us, protecting clarity of purpose and trust in the ecosystem matters more.  

• There have been two major relaunches of iGBAffiliate.com, one in 2021 and another in 2025. What were the key differences between the two, and what have been the standout improvements of the most recent relaunch for the iGaming affiliate community?  

The 2021 relaunch was about modernising the platform. The 2025 relaunch was about making it more relevant to our audiences. The most recent rebuild was designed to make igbaffiliate.com valuable year-round, not just around live events. Editorial, commercial content, the directory and jobs are now woven more naturally into the user journey, supported by tag-driven search that helps users find what matters to them quickly.   

From a delivery perspective, the new content management system gives the editorial team far more flexibility to experiment with formats and build pages faster. Despite launching into a tough market shaped by Google updates and AI search, we have already seen positive signs in traffic and engagement, which is encouraging.   

• What are the most important ways you see digital transforming Clarion Gaming’s live events portfolio over the next few years?     

Digital will play a bigger role in shaping how people experience events before, during and after they attend. We will see more personalised journeys, better use of data to connect the right people and stronger year-round engagement through content and community platforms.   

Live events will remain the anchor, but digital will extend their lifespan and value far beyond the show floor. For Clarion Gaming, that means tighter integration between our events and platforms like iGBAffiliate.com, using digital to surface insight, maintain momentum and deepen relationships.   

Our goal is not to replace face to face interaction. But we aim to make it more relevant, more efficient and more commercially effective.