How to drive iGaming traffic on TikTok

In the era of WebView apps and strict Facebook policy, affiliates found themselves looking more at alternative traffic sources to run ad campaigns. One answer to the question «where to go off Facebook?» has beсome TikTok. At 888STARZ Partners we’ve decided not to stand aside, and today we will share how to drive traffic to Gambling and Betting offers using TikTok.

Tik Tok in affiliate marketing — how is this source of traffic better than Facebook?

With a user base of 1.04 billion, TikTok advertising has huge potential for reaching a targeted audience and generating traffic. According to Statista, there were 236 million mobile app downloads in the first quarter of 2024, with total downloads on Android and iOS approaching the 5 billion mark. Furthermore, by the end of 2023, the company’s revenue exceeded $16 billion — with 80% coming from advertising.

Despite the fact that TikTok currently has nearly half the number of monthly active users compared to Facebook, there are many notable advantages in its favor. These includes the following:

• It’s easier to bypass bans and moderation.
  Unlike Facebook, on TikTok it’s much easier to create an account and pass moderation. Although you still cannot use words directly related to casinos and betting, there are significantly more creative opportunities on this website.
• TikTok allegedly has a ROI that is several times higher.
  The ROI metric, which measures the return of investments, is among the highest in social media at 24%. Its’ value can be higher and depends on the vertical, country, as well as the chosen marketing strategy.
• No need to warm up your account.
  Those who work with Facebook have long been aware that accounts need to be warmed up before they start driving traffic. In TikTok you may avoid this step by creating a standard user account where you will upload themed material and conduct streams — the rest will be handled by TikTok’s algorithms. But don’t forget to add a link in your profile description.

It’s important to note that TikTok promotion depends directly on the GEO linked to the account. For example, registering from the United States allows you to promote betting platforms, but the advertiser can only run ads with TikTok’s permission. In many Latin American and Asian countries, social casinos and gambling simulators are permitted for advertising. Another advantage is that after creating a TikTok account, you can easily change the location in settings to the desired region and continue your work without much difficulty.

What you should know before running traffic — TikTok’s key features

Before you start running ad campaigns on TikTok, it’s essential to understand the unique characteristics of this traffic source:

• A lot of non-paying audiences

Around 35% of TikTok users are young people — teens and college students aged 18 to 24. Additionally, over 20% of the platform’s users are minors with low purchasing power, so you’ll occasionally encounter an irrelevant audience.

• Impulsive audience

TikTok users like hype, shaping a target audience profile that loves popular tracks and trending sounds. However, trends shift quickly, requiring advertisers to regularly adapt their creatives to keep up.

• Inability to promote with Ads Manager

Since TikTok doesn’t officially support Gambling and Betting ads, promoting offers through the usual Ads Manager won’t work.

• Intense competition for user attention

The platform is saturated with diverse content, so grabbing your target audience’s attention demands creativity.

• Advertising blindness

This is a direct result of the previous argument — a too saturated feed makes it difficult for users to see ads and causes advertising blindness.

How to launch iGaming ad campaigns on TikTok

To start TikTok ad campaigns for Gambling, webmasters can use the following approaches:

Conditionally free traffic

This approach involves uploading TikTok videos, promoting via live streams (requires 1,000+ followers), stories, textual content, and other formats. The main advantage of conditionally free traffic is that it doesn’t require significant investment.

Simplified video content management

TikTok shop offers numerous built-in tools for posting, like the «Stitch» and «Duet» options, allowing you to combine other users’ videos with your own footage. However, this is accessible if you belong to the group of accounts that are permitted to use it, or if the content owner has given permission for all users to use it.

Driving traffic directly to the affiliate link

Promoting iGaming offers with direct links is possible but requires caution. For effective ad placement, affiliate marketers should use cloaking to mask content from moderators, presenting a «white version» of the page.

Running traffic through the pre-landing page.

Pre-landing pages help to pass moderation by displaying a neutral page without overt mention of casinos, betting, or monetary units. The pre-landing content should focus on appealing and general-interest material to capture a broad audience with diverse interests and lifestyles.

Redirecting the audience to Telegram

TikTok traffic can be redirected to other platforms, such as Telegram channels, where you can share reviews, sports forecasts, helpful articles, and other content. Working with the Betting or Gambling offers, the game plan requires caution because it is not supported by all brands and might be mistakenly classified as «scheme» traffic.

Examples of TikTok Betting and Gambling creatives for ads

To effectively run iGaming traffic on TikTok, it’s crucial to understand the types of creatives that are acceptable on the platform. Here are some strategies to keep in mind when designing your ads:

• Successful success:
  This approach works well in Tier 3 countries. Using luxury products, such as costly cars, purchasing pricey equipment, or living extravagantly, is an example of such creatives. Phrases like “It changed my life”, “You can do it too”, or “How a small-town guy became a millionaire” and similar expressions are used the most often.

• Clickbait headlines:
  What worked for the CIS countries, now works very well in Europe and other nations. Based on the Nutra vertical principle, “all you need is…” headlines works in Gambling too: “to become a millionaire I just did this”, and encourage clicking the link in the profile header.

• Entertainment comes first:
  Showcasing a popular slot game for the targeted GEO, with the casino’s name or logo, boosts customer lifetime value (LTV). Creatives often display someone playing Aviator or placing winning sports bets. Effective calls to action (CTAs) may sound like: “Play for free,” “Join us,” “Free app,” or “Someone wins here every 2 minutes”.

• Emotion-driven creatives:
  Your creative can show emotions of the player who wins. Then goes a similar call to action, “Play with us and win,” or a brand demonstration with the casino’s name appears at the end of this creative.

• Gamified giveaways:
  Look out for gamified creatives, such as inviting players to spin a wheel for getting a prize from a casino or deposit for free bets on football matches. Such an offer is simple to share, but the benefits should be realistic, as the advertiser will not pay for misleading or motivated traffic.

Useful tip: To reduce the risk of being blocked by TikTok, replace similar letters in ad text with symbols from other languages.

And that’s not all — here’s some other key points for effective TikTok marketing:

1. Do not overdo it.

While your message should be clear to the target audience, avoid excessive promotion or aggressive advertising. Don’t overload the ad with effects — instead, pay attention to the text. Avoid focusing too much on the «free» words since it could make the audience decide not to proceed past the initial deposit.

2. Avoid misleading content.

This applies to the sweepstakes-based and gaming approaches. The expectation/reality mismatch can lead to serious consequences and greatly affect the quality of traffic.

3. Study your target audience.

Every country has its own cultural and national characteristics. For some regions, national symbols like flags or team colors can enhance ad appeal. Similarly, in some GEOs it is better to emphasize a specific game rather than freebies or winnings.

4. Test multiple creatives.

This is true to more than just this traffic source; several tests should be done in order to decide which will be the most beneficial to enter. By the way, if you play around with colors, icons, and text, the creative may always offer something a second chance or be used for multiple GEOs.

5. Draw inspiration from others.

For fresh ideas, create a new profile and watch iGaming ads to let TikTok algorithms recognize related content to you. In addition, TikTok has its own library of creatives that covers various verticals and brands, both big and small. So there will always be something suitable for your niche specifically.

Conclusion

TikTok is rapidly emerging as one of the leading traffic sources in affiliate marketing. Several factors contribute to this: the app’s global user growth makes it the 5th most popular social media platform worldwide. Here most of the users are not only open to trends, viral content, and new ideas, but are also willing to spend. Posts here easily make it to recommendations, and TikTok’s refined algorithms help quickly connect with relevant audiences while filtering out those less interested.

Mastering TikTok as a traffic source can produce significant results and become a valuable tool for achieving your iGaming marketing goals. At 888STARZ Partners, we stay on top of the latest updates and innovations across different traffic sources, so we’re ready to assist you in successfully driving traffic to Gambling and Betting offers. Contact your personal manager and start getting some more revenue today!