Quick answer: The biggest affiliate marketing trends in 2026 for casino and sports betting affiliates are fewer clicks from Google as AI summaries spread, tougher enforcement against spam and borrowed-authority pages, higher UK gambling taxes and stricter bonus rules, new advertising rules in Brazil, and a stronger case for RevShare and Hybrid deals.
I'm Rihards, founder of Seven Affiliates, and I've spent five years in iGaming. Every trend below is backed by an official source or a named study, because "trust me, I read it on LinkedIn" is not a trend.
Predicting the future is usually a job for crystal balls. [Polishes crystal ball. It's a snow globe.] So instead of guessing, this page sticks to things that have already happened or are already written into law. Less mystical, more useful, and nobody gets snow on their keyboard.
Affiliate marketing trends 2026 at a glance
| Trend | The evidence | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| AI summaries take clicks | 8% vs 15% click rate with and without an AI summary (Pew) | Build pages people need to click: comparisons, reviews, tools |
| Spam enforcement | Google uses "best casinos" as its site reputation abuse example | Own your authority, avoid mass-produced pages |
| UK costs rise | Remote Gaming Duty 21% to 40% from 1 April 2026 | Expect deal terms to be reviewed |
| UK bonus rules | Wagering capped at 10x from 19 January 2026 | Update every UK bonus page |
| Brazil ad rules | Rules extend to everyone involved in advertising | Promote authorised brands only, with required warnings |
| Deal types | Big affiliates favour revenue share | Consider RevShare or Hybrid for organic traffic |
Sources for each row are linked in the sections below.
Trend 1: AI summaries are taking clicks
This is the big one for content affiliates. Pew Research Center found that "Users who encountered an AI summary clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits", compared with 15% of visits without one (Pew Research Center, 2025). Ahrefs found that an AI Overview "now correlates with a 58% lower average clickthrough rate for the top-ranking page" (Ahrefs, February 2026).
To be fair to Google, it says the opposite in aggregate: "Overall, total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has been relatively stable year-over-year" (Google, August 2025).
Both can be true: fine overall, painful for pages that simply answer a question. "What is RTP" is in trouble. "Which of these three offers isn't a trap" is doing fine.
My crystal ball agrees. My snow globe is undecided.
Trend 2: Google is cracking down on casino spam
Gambling is the example Google reaches for. Its site reputation abuse policy targets third-party content published on a site "mainly because of that host's already-established ranking signals", and its example is "A medical site hosting a low-quality, third-party advertising page about 'best casinos' that isn't integrated with the site" (Google spam policies).
The same policies call out "Using generative AI tools or other similar tools to generate many pages without adding value for users".
And spam isn't only Google's problem: in November 2025, Gambling.com Group's CEO blamed part of a slowdown on "low-quality search results related to the proliferation of spam websites particularly in non-U.S. markets" (Gambling.com Group). The honest affiliates are, in other words, sharing a lift with the spammers. Nobody enjoys it.
| What Google targets | What it looks like in iGaming |
|---|---|
| Site reputation abuse | "Best casinos" pages hosted on unrelated high-authority sites |
| Scaled content abuse | Hundreds of AI-written casino reviews with nothing original |
| Thin affiliation | Operator descriptions copied with no added value |
The trend to bet on: fewer, better pages on sites you actually own. Our guide to iGaming content that works covers how.
Trend 3: UK tax and bonus rules are changing the maths
Two changes land in the UK this year. First, "the rate of Remote Gaming Duty will be increased from 21% to 40% from 1 April 2026", with "a new remote betting rate of 25%" within General Betting Duty from 1 April 2027 (GOV.UK).
| UK change | When | Why affiliates care |
|---|---|---|
| Remote Gaming Duty 21% to 40% | 1 April 2026 | Less revenue left after tax, so operators may review commission terms |
| New 25% remote betting rate | 1 April 2027 | Same pressure on sportsbooks, a year later |
| Bonus wagering capped at 10x, mixed-product offers banned | 19 January 2026 | Older bonus pages describe offers that can't run any more |
Second, from 19 January 2026 the Gambling Commission capped wagering at ten times and banned offers that mix products, like betting plus slots (Gambling Commission). Our inference, not a published forecast: with higher tax, operators will look harder at what each player costs them, so expect CPA terms to face more scrutiny than RevShare. Anyone who tells you exactly how much is holding a snow globe too.
Trend 4: Brazil puts affiliates inside the advertising rules
Brazil's regulated betting market keeps tightening. In July 2026, the Ministry of Finance required warnings in betting ads "ocupando, no mínimo, 10% da área do anúncio" (taking up at least 10% of the ad) under Portaria SPA/MF nº 1.964, and a joint ordinance, Portaria Interministerial nº 73, applied the advertising rules to everyone involved and banned promoting "marcas, aplicativos, sites ou perfis de plataformas não autorizadas" (brands, apps, sites or profiles of unauthorised platforms) (Ministério da Fazenda).
| Brazil rule (2026) | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Portaria SPA/MF nº 1.964 (from 17 July 2026) | Warnings covering at least 10% of every betting ad |
| Portaria Interministerial nº 73 (10 July 2026) | Advertising rules apply to everyone involved, and no promotion of unauthorised brands, apps, sites or profiles |
For affiliates, the second part is the headline. It's no longer "the operator's problem" if you promote an unauthorised brand to Brazilian players. It's yours, in Portuguese, with paperwork. Our guide to compliance rules for gambling affiliates covers the other big markets.
Trend 5: the case for RevShare and Hybrid is getting stronger
The biggest affiliates have been saying it for a while. Better Collective's CEO Jesper Søgaard: "At Better Collective we have always favoured revenue share agreements as we consistently invest for the long-term" (CasinoBeats).
The logic hasn't changed: a small share of players produce most of the revenue, and RevShare lets you share in it. In a 2024 study of British accounts, the top 1% of online gaming customers generated 41.64% of operator net revenue.
Our full guide to CPA vs RevShare walks through which suits your traffic. Spoiler: it depends, and I'm sorry, and it's still true.
Trend 6: cookies stay in Chrome, but don't rely on them
The long-promised end of third-party cookies didn't happen. In April 2025 Google said it would "maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome, and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies" (Google Privacy Sandbox).
| Tracking method | 2026 status |
|---|---|
| Third-party cookies in Chrome | Staying, with user choice |
| Client-side cookies in Safari | Capped at seven days since 2019 |
| Server-to-server postbacks | Not affected by cookies or ad blockers |
That doesn't make cookie-based tracking safe. Apple's Safari has capped client-side cookies at seven days since 2019 (WebKit), and ad blockers still exist. Server-to-server postbacks remain the reliable option, and our postback URL setup guide shows how. Cookies, like snow globes, are lovely until someone shakes them.
Trend 7: sports betting keeps growing
If you've been casino-only, 2026 is a good year to look at sportsbooks. The American Gaming Association reported US sports betting revenue of $16.96 billion in 2025, "a 22.8 percent increase", on a total handle of $166.94 billion, while iGaming reached $10.74 billion (American Gaming Association).
Sportsbook RevShare swings more than casino, because results swing. When the favourites all win, the sportsbook has a bad weekend and so does your RevShare. Hybrid deals smooth that out. Your mood, however, remains tied to your team.
How we're approaching 2026 at Seven Affiliates
We're building a curated network of private iGaming offers for casino and sports betting affiliates, rather than a giant list of brands. With AI summaries, tougher spam rules and new regulation all at once, we think fewer, better partnerships suit 2026 better than more of everything.
Our standing terms: CPA, RevShare and Hybrid deals, RevShare on NGR at 35% by default, no negative carryover, real-time tracking, and brand bidding only where the specific offer explicitly allows it. Offer terms are agreed privately with your account manager. No snow globes involved.
| 2026 trend | How our terms fit |
|---|---|
| Shift to RevShare and Hybrid | Both offered, 35% RevShare by default |
| Volatile months | No negative carryover |
| Tracking you can trust | Real-time tracking in your dashboard |
| Stricter ad rules | Brand bidding only where an offer explicitly allows it |
FAQ
Is affiliate marketing still worth it in 2026?
For casino and sports betting, yes, but the easy wins are gone. AI summaries reduce clicks on simple informational pages, and Google enforces harder against spam, so useful comparison and review content on sites you own matters more than volume.
How is AI changing affiliate marketing?
AI summaries in search reduce clicks for many queries. Pew found users clicked a result in 8% of visits with an AI summary versus 15% without. Google also treats mass-produced AI pages without added value as spam.
What changed for UK gambling affiliates in 2026?
Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026, and from 19 January 2026 bonus wagering requirements are capped at ten times, with mixed-product offers banned.
Are third-party cookies going away in 2026?
Not in Chrome. In April 2025 Google said it would keep its current approach to third-party cookie choice. Safari still limits client-side cookies, so server-to-server tracking remains the more reliable option.
Which is growing faster, sports betting or online casino?
In the US in 2025, sports betting revenue reached $16.96 billion, up 22.8%, and iGaming reached $10.74 billion, up 27.6%, according to the American Gaming Association.
Planning your 2026? See how the Seven Affiliates iGaming affiliate program works, then apply here.