The iGaming Industry: Who Makes Money and How

The online gambling industry is a supply chain, and each link is paid differently.

Game studios build the slots and table games and license them to operators, usually for a revenue share on the stakes their games take.

Aggregators bundle content from many studios into a single integration so an operator can launch hundreds of games at once, taking a cut of the same revenue share.

Platform providers supply the account system, cashier, bonus engine and reporting. White label providers go further and supply the licence too.

Payment providers and PSPs handle deposits and withdrawals and charge per transaction, with rates that vary sharply by market and method.

Affiliates, including publications like this one, send traffic to operators and are paid either a share of net revenue, a fixed fee per depositing player, or a hybrid of both. This is the part readers should scrutinise most, because it creates an obvious incentive to praise whoever pays best.

That incentive is why disclosure matters. A commercial relationship should be declared plainly, ratings should be based on published criteria, and no operator should be able to buy a higher score or a better position. Where a publication will not tell you how it is paid, assume the rankings are for sale.