Blask, the AI-driven iGaming analytics platform, is poised to unveil a new feature that allows operators to track the visibility of their brands across affiliate sites on a daily basis. This new capability logs the position of their brands, providing concrete proof of placement. Ahead of the feature's public introduction, CEO and Co-founder Max Tesla spoke with The Gamblest to discuss the longstanding trust issues in affiliate marketing, the implications of this new tracking capability, and what operators can expect once it goes live.
The Gamblest: Can you explain what the new Affiliates feature does?
Max: It tracks where an operator's brand appears on an affiliate's page every day, indicating its position relative to competitors—whether it's in second place or eleventh. We locate the relevant affiliate sites, identify the pages displaying brand rankings, and capture a daily snapshot of which brands are present and their respective ranks.
The Gamblest: What issue does this feature address?
Max: Affiliate placement operates on contractual agreements where an operator pays to have their logo in a specific placement, but there’s no reliable verification process. The only evidence often provided is a screenshot from affiliate managers who have a vested interest in presenting favorable data. Operators routinely pay invoices without any verifiable receipts.
The Gamblest: How does your data collection process function?
Max: It's a three-step process:
1. We continuously discover affiliate sites, rather than maintaining a static list.
2. We classify all available pages and pinpoint those that display brand rankings.
3. Daily, we capture which brands appear on these pages and their rankings, supplemented by screenshots as evidence.
The Gamblest: What was the most challenging aspect of developing this feature?
Max: The biggest challenge was ensuring our ranking logic could handle real-world web pages. Design changes or scripts that alter logo positions can disrupt simplistic data collection techniques. In early testing, we experienced misidentification of a brand due to lazy-loading images not appearing in our crawler's initial views. It highlighted the necessity of having robust verification tools to minimize reporting errors.
The Gamblest: Is there a risk that affiliates or operators could manipulate the system?
Max: If someone attempts to time logo changes to coincide with our data collection, it's a noteworthy concern. However, our system captures screenshots as proof rather than relying solely on derived data, allowing us to detect any potential manipulation.
The Gamblest: What new capabilities will operators have with this feature that they currently lack?
Max: There are two key functions. First, operators can confirm if their brand appears where the contract specifies on the agreed dates, with supporting screenshots. Second, over time, they can monitor competitors' affiliate strategies—tracking which brands increasingly appear on new affiliate sites and how frequently this shifts, providing valuable competitive insights.
The Gamblest: Does this benefit both operators and affiliates?
Max: Yes, both sides gain advantages. Affiliates can strengthen their pitches to new operators by demonstrating their brand placements over time with verifiable data. This mirrors changes we saw in ad networks, where self-reported metrics transitioned to verified figures, thereby enhancing trust.
The Gamblest: Why has this affiliate tracking feature not been developed until now?
Max: The absence of a standardized system and the complexity involved in monitoring diverse, frequently changing web pages has deterred previous efforts. There is no API to obtain real-time page layouts, necessitating daily manual checks, often deemed unworthy of investment. We chose to reinvent this space in our own way.
The Gamblest: How does this feature fit into Blask's overall strategy?
Max: It aligns with our core mission at Blask: identifying signals that foresee market movements and making them transparent. Affiliate placements act as indicators of market demand, similar to how we analyze search demand and visibility. It’s an area that hadn’t been systematically structured until we addressed it with our platform.
The Gamblest: When will this feature go live and where will it initially be available?
Max: We plan to launch in the next few weeks, starting with Brazil, where affiliate marketing plays a vital role in operator strategies. This market significantly values precise brand placements. We will expand coverage from there but prefer to ensure success in one market rather than overextend. We are already developing additional features to enhance this offering by the end of the year.
The Gamblest: What does success look like for this feature in a year?
Max: Ideally, in a year, iGaming affiliates will consider Blask Affiliates their go-to resource instead of relying on emails or spreadsheets. Achieving this change in habits will be a significant milestone, and expanded global coverage will naturally follow.
