Whenever a recession hits or there is any decline in the economy, consumers historically tend to steer away from being frivolous with their cash and splashing out on luxury goods. Markets such as food and mainstream clothes continue to do well, for obvious reasons, but people tend to want to save their pennies when it comes to what they consider to be ‘treats’.

However, during the recession that hit us in the early 90s analysts claim that there wasn’t any material decline in the UK in the bookies and casino sector at all. And its popularity is two-fold. Firstly, it’s still a form of extravagance without being off the scale (for most people) and secondly any money-making schemes are obviously going to be popular when belts are being tightened; which is why the lottery and bingo halls will only see a small decline, or in some cases perhaps an increase in revenue as the recession takes hold.

There are similar reasons as to why online gambling sites are so popular and have seen a huge increase over recent years. The current economic crisis along with cheap broadband and the smoking ban in pubs, clubs, bingo halls and bookies have stopped many consumers from wanting to go out and place their bets. Instead, they can now sit and watch the football on their wide-screen TV and simply place a bet by pressing the red button or, more importantly to web editors everywhere, they can turn on their home computers and spend hundreds (or more in some cases) in online bingo halls, poker sites, Internet casinos and through bookies.

Gambling isn’t simply a past time but for many people it is an all too welcome distraction from the harsh reality of their everyday lives. With the rise in unemployment, others fearing for their jobs and the news full of doom and gloom, it is little wonder that people are seeking a place of refuge.

High street bookies make a significant percentage of their profits each year through their websites and the market is so lucrative that a number of web-only bookies have emerged, such as 888Sport.com. This illustrates just how lucrative the market is: the very nature of bookies revolves around trust. Consumers are taking a risk and handing over their money on the understanding that they may not get it back. Whilst UK consumers have become familiar with trust transactions of this nature through the steep rise in online purchasing over the last few years, there is a significant difference between the purchase of an item and its subsequent (and ever more prompt) delivery versus funding a gambling account. If you don’t like the outcome of a bet you can’t exactly go asking for your money back!

For any website to set itself up online without the backing of a respected brand is particularly tricky; getting consumers to buy into it and getting them to come back, ultimately gaining their trust is especially tough with online gambling sites and is something that any potential gambling affiliate should consider when deciding which gambling merchants to promote. Trends in sports betting have been mirrored in the bingo sector with a significant increase in the number of traditional bricks and mortar bingo operators setting up online equivalents, including Crown and Gala, as well as the advent of a number of online-only bingo halls such as Foxy Bingo.

What with affiliate marketing being deemed as (almost) a recession proof investment and bookies and casinos weathering the storm so well before, marrying the two together could arguably see your revenue remain constant or even increase during these difficult financial times. I must stress the importance however of promoting gambling responsibly – There are lots of people whose lives have been ruined by gambling, and it is so very important that you do not entice would-be gamblers with false promises of easy wins or encouraging them to spend the food shopping money on scratchcards. It is always worth including a link to Gamcare with any copy you write, who offer help to those with gambling problems.

There are a couple of routes to take if you want to promote gambling merchants on your site and a number of things you have to consider. Firstly, as with any affiliate programme or online promotion, does it really fit in with your current site or sites and your users? Nearly all affiliate programmes that are well managed and well thought out will potentially make you money. However, gambling is fiendishly competitive: for affiliates, gaining natural search rankings or running PPC campaigns in this space is going to require every bit of knowledge you have assimilated to date. And some more.

Thinking like this will also help you discover which type of gambling programme are likely to be best; best for you and your site and best for your audience. There are endless variants from which to choose, including casinos, poker sites and bookmakers, or a combination of them all. A lot of the larger brands and sites, in particular, will have their own affiliate programmes that you can join directly. Others will operate through the major affiliate networks.

Ultimately, you need to consider a variety of factors including your current sites and traffic, the range of merchants on offer and the combination of the two. You will need to find a clear niche or angle by which to market your new merchants and avoiding the “me too” strategies we see out there every day, Remember that there are very few “natural” link partners for a gambling site: most will require payment (explore at your own risk) or some other form of value in exchange for linking. The offer of content may work for some, for others shared commissions, CPC revenues or similar will be needed.

PPC is also violently competitive for any gambling theme. Dig deep enough and you may find a “sweet spot” to exploit but with the maturity of this sector and the number of serious affiliate players already working it, you will need to look long, hard and deep. We have explored a range of affiliate, paid and natural search marketing techniques here at Lammo.net and all of them can be exploited to good effect in this space as much as anywhere else if you are prepared to put the work in. The use of viral and SMO (Social Media Optimisation) techniques could potentially work well here but be ready to be very targeted in your approach: many people view gambling with a fair degree of suspicion, some as a “poison” sector so be sure to obtain consent and consensus insofar as you can.

As with any sector, the higher the rewards, the higher the barrier to entry is likely to be. Gambling appears to be a solid potential business model for those prepared to push online marketing techniques to their boundaries and beyond. At a time like this it’s worth thinking outside the box and if you haven’t considered promoting gambling merchants before, maybe it’s time you did.

A few gambling affiliate programs you could promote:

Image Credit: www.lifelounge.com

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