In the lead-up to SBC Summit Rio, iGamingExpert and Affiliate Leaders had the pleasure of speaking with Moshe Schuster, Founder of Affiliate Boutique, who will be attending the event next month. During the interview, Schuster discussed the founding principles of Affiliate Boutique, the importance of trust in his line of work, and his team’s approach to optimizing campaigns. Schuster also delved into the strategic relevance of Brazil’s regulatory developments, the evolving dynamics of the affiliate market in the region, and his views on emerging opportunities in other markets.

Affiliate Boutique: Trust is the most important factor

In the lead-up to SBC Summit Rio, iGamingExpert and Affiliate Leaders had the pleasure of speaking with Moshe Schuster, Founder of Affiliate Boutique, who will be attending the event next month.

During the interview, Schuster discussed the founding principles of Affiliate Boutique, the importance of trust in his line of work, and his team’s approach to optimizing campaigns.

Schuster also delved into the strategic relevance of Brazil’s regulatory developments, the evolving dynamics of the affiliate market in the region, and his views on emerging opportunities in other markets.

SBC: What inspired you to enter the iGaming industry, and what motivated you to specialise in affiliate marketing after working in various roles within the industry?

Moshe Schuster: One of my favourite things about this industry is that, as kids, none of us thought, “When I grow up, I want to be in gaming”,  but here we are, and it’s awesome!  

The affiliate side kind of picked me. I spent my first several years on the operator side, eventually running eight brands. However, when the group I was working for relocated and I started working as a consultant, I found myself frequently being asked for traffic.  

One thing led to another, and soon I was closing deals on behalf of affiliate partners and friends from my time running brands. 

Eventually, that grew into our first network, and, ultimately, Affiliate Boutique.

SBC: Let’s talk about Affiliate Boutique. What are the biggest challenges in running an affiliate network in the iGaming sector?

MS:  There are many factors, but I think the most important is trust. There’s a massive amount of distrust between operators and affiliates, particularly media buying teams.

Operators often believe affiliates aim to deliver the lowest-quality traffic at the highest price, prompting them to take protective measures like instituting KPIs or withholding payouts.  

On the other hand, many affiliates feel that brands don’t honour their commitments and that there’s no recourse when payment issues arise. 

Developing and maintaining trust with both sides is a must for a successful network, and that trust is one of the key reasons affiliates prefer to work with networks rather than directly with brands.

SBC: What makes your traffic optimisation strategies stand out compared to competitors? Are there any new traffic types or strategies you’re planning to explore?

MS: I don’t know that we’re doing anything unique when it comes to optimisation, but we do drill down pretty deep to find out what’s working, what isn’t, and why.  

One thing that we do particularly well is combine education with optimisation, guiding our publishers on the practical differences between brands or geos. We’re often directly involved in the approval of creatives from our publishers, which allows us to more effectively influence how a campaign is optimised.

As for new types, we’re paying attention to zero-click and voice search. It’s still early days, but the way people search for and digest information is changing, and we need to stay ahead of the curve. 

SBC: What tools and platforms do you rely on for analytics and campaign optimisation?

MS: We recently migrated our backend to Everflow, largely due to its flexibility and analytical capabilities. We’re now in the process of organising APIs with key partners for more comprehensive streaming data all in one place. 

Of course, we’re also still working with exports from individual affiliate programs and making a lot of pivot tables, but some things will probably never change.

SBC: As an affiliate network, what are the main principles that guide you in forming strong relationships with operators and affiliates?

MS: One of Affiliate Boutique’s foundational principles is that we’re value producers — meaning that everyone we work with should see value from the relationship. If we do that effectively, we don’t have any practical competition, as working with us provides value that would be lost without the collaboration. 

We’ve also reached a position where we can be selective and focus deeply on the needs of our partners. We don’t onboard every brand that approaches us, and we don’t accept every affiliate that applies to our network. 

SBC: You’ll be attending SBC Summit Rio this February. Why do you think attending this event is vital for your business and how do you position your brand in Brazil?

MS: I really enjoy SBC conferences. They’re very well organised, always insightful, and attract a good crowd of industry professionals. Brazil is a very important market for us, and with recent regulatory developments, attending this conference has taken on even more strategic relevance.

That said, as a global affiliate network, we attend around ten conferences a year across a wide range of markets to maintain our position as a market leader. While I’ll be in Rio, we’ll also have a presence at the overlapping Dubai shows. Hopefully, next year they won’t overlap, and I’ll be able to attend both.

SBC: What are your thoughts on Brazil’s upcoming regulation, how do you foresee this regulation impacting affiliates in the region and how do you predict the competition will evolve among affiliates in Brazil?

MS: Regulation will cause many operators to leave the market. Those who remain are already knowledgeable about Brazil and have a thorough understanding of sustainable CPA rates and Brazilian player values. They’ll be competing for market share with deep pockets, but it will be a buyer’s market.  

Particularly with influencers being able to drive so much volume inexpensively, those affiliates that want a decent share of the pie will need to adjust to lower CPAs or risk finding themselves on the outside looking in.  

That said, those who take the time to learn the market well and can deliver FTDs at lower costs will be able to benefit from large budgets and a still healthy ROI.

SBC: Apart from Brazil, are there any regions you foresee as becoming major players in iGaming in the near future?

MS: While already major markets, France and Australia are both exploring the regulation of online casinos in the next year or two, and it will be a significant milestone for the industry when they do.  

We’re also hoping to see growth and maturity in regulated markets like Germany and Austria, where restrictive gameplay or hyper-taxation has made getting a license or playing at regulated brands counterproductive. If regulatory bodies can learn from their mistakes and make adjustments, it could greatly impact how we all approach these markets.

Aside from those, we’re seeing a lot of interest in GCC traffic, and we’re also big believers in Africa. We’re looking forward to more opportunities across the continent as markets and technology continue to evolve.

Want in on the Affiliate Leaders Summit at SBC Summit Rio? Apply for a complimentary pass for full access to the expo floor, all sessions, evening networking, and free catering!

SBC’s Affiliate Leaders community brings together a vital segment of the iGaming industry, empowering affiliates to connect, share insights, and explore challenges and opportunities within the sector. Built around information exchange, Affiliate Leaders offers exclusive benefits, including speaking opportunities at SBC events, interview features, VIP dinners, and complimentary access to all SBC events globally, amplifying affiliate voices in the iGaming discussion. Apply for membership.

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