Kongebonus: building a Norwegian community from the grassroots up

As the editor-in-chief of Kongebonus, a dark horse at the 2026 iGB Affiliate Awards, Norwegian David Nilsen’s industry journey started as a player. Having always enjoyed betting and casino games, he never imagined turning his pastime into a career.

But with contacts in Malta, he moved to the island expecting a short stint, only to find himself still there 11 years later. He spent the first few years on the operator side with Betsson Group and Kindred Group, where his work covered everything from advanced player support, responsible gambling, payments, KYC and AML to dispute handling.

Eventually, when the Norwegian affiliate brand recognised his talent and reached out, Nilsen says joining was “close to a no brainer”.

“Kongebonus has always been one of the big names in online casinos in Norway,” he says. “I knew the brand, I knew the community, and I could see exactly where my background fitted.”

Starting small

Launched in 2019, Kongebonus had modest beginnings as a Twitch channel alongside a simple landing page promoting casino offers. As its audience grew, Discord became the meeting point for a burgeoning community of Norwegian casino players.

Despite not being part of the founding team, Nilsen joined not long after launch. What attracted him was the founders’ ability to understand the market from multiple perspectives at once: as players, as streamers and as operators.

“That was one of the most exciting things for me, because I have a similar mix in my own background,” he explains. “I think that combination is what a modern affiliate needs. If you only see the market through one lens, you end up serving one party. If you can hold all three perspectives, you can actually understand what everyone needs and build something that works for all of them.”

The streaming landscape has changed drastically since those early Twitch days, with crypto streaming flourishing and competition between channels intensifying. But Nilsen believes Kongebonus’ basic role has remained the same – being the “authentic guys helping players and giving back” to the community.

Overseeing Kongebonus’ editorial output as well as its wider operations, Nilsen is most proud of the affiliate’s 24-point methodology for reviewing casinos, which he describes as “the single most important part” of the job.

“We do not hand out ratings based on a feeling or a commercial relationship,” he explains. Casinos are instead assessed against documented factors including bonus terms, payment processes, licensing, technology and responsible gambling tools, all weighed at different percentages.

Yet winning big

Back in the early days, Nilsen recalls the team once thought ranking for Norway’s biggest casino keywords was mission impossible.

A few years down the line, however, the brand has hit plenty of milestones: it expanded into betting in 2022, launched the Kongebonus Awards the same year and created what Nilsen describes as Norway’s first casino and entertainment podcast. The community has since passed 20,000 members, while the business established an Oslo office in 2023 after operating from Spain for a period. The team also revised its 24-point methodology in 2025 and helped hundreds of players handle casino complaints.

But Nilsen says the biggest milestone came this July, when Kongebonus was named Best Casino Affiliate at the iGB Affiliate Awards 2026.

“Honestly, we never expected it,” Nilsen says. “We were already happy just to be nominated alongside companies many times our size.”

Part of the operation underpinning the achievement is what Kongebonus calls its “launchpad strategy”, a process for bringing any new casino to market. Nilsen explains that before a partner casino gets anywhere near launch, it must first pass the affiliate’s review methodology. Only then does the brand move into its “360 method”, says Nilsen.

“That means we activate everywhere we can, carefully and in sequence: SEO, streaming, social media, competitions and usually an exclusive offer for our audience. It has worked very well for the operators we have done it with,” Nilsen says.

But he believes the most important part happens after the launch, when Kongebonus becomes a live testing partner, flagging payment issues or bonus mechanics that do not work as claimed.

“Things go wrong, even at good operators,” he says. “What separates them is how fast it gets resolved. This is good for the operator, good for us and, most importantly, good for the player.”

The same truth-seeking spirit also guides Kongebonus’ content strategy. On the news side, Nilsen explains that the affiliate has always prioritised “real reporting rather than rewriting press releases”. The team conducts investigative work on payment providers in the local market to help players understand who they are dealing with, in addition to providing in-depth coverage of Norwegian events, ranging from the Skal vi danse? celebrity TV dance competition, Eurovision and other major betting events.

“The foundation is simple and straightforward, and that is by design: do not make things up,” he says. “I assume that mix of original reporting and genuine local relevance is what got us picked up in Google News.”

Stepping up to a bigger role

Looking ahead, Nilsen wants Kongebonus to become more established not simply by claiming a bigger market share, but also by becoming a safeguard for Norwegian players.

Part of this depends on how Norway’s regulatory environment develops. Nilsen would like to see affiliates formally recognised within the regulatory framework instead of operating in a grey area, with licensing available to companies willing to meet defined standards. This, he believes, would give players “a clear way of telling the difference between safe casinos and sites that simply market hard”.

“The difference is the real risk right now. There are affiliates in this market operating with very little regard for the player, and that damages trust in everyone,” he says. “Regulation that formalises affiliates’ role would be welcome.”

But regardless of how regulations develop, Kongebonus’ number one mission – and perhaps Nilsen’s main reason for joining the team – remains unchanged: keeping players entertained.

Nilsen is excited about the team’s product ambitions, having recently launched 30-0, a fantasy draft game for followers of Norway’s Eliteserien football league, alongside a World Cup prediction game this season – products that “give the community a reason to show up that has nothing to do with a bonus offer”. He also hints at more fun features in the pipeline, with hopes of attracting international attention.

“We build things that are simple good fun for our audience,” Nilsen says. “Getting people to take part, compete against each other and have a good time is a big part of why this job stays interesting.”