Affiliate Program Industry Insights: Lilibet Affiliate Program

At Affiliate Roulette, we continue to expand our editorial coverage to provide affiliates with deeper, practical insights into how leading iGaming affiliate programs operate behind the scenes.

As part of The Inside Bet, our ongoing interview platform, we are introducing Affiliate Program Industry Insights a focused editorial series dedicated to exploring affiliate programs in detail. This series highlights how programs structure partnerships, approach transparency, support affiliates, and plan for long-term growth in an increasingly competitive iGaming environment.

For the first interview in this series, we spoke with Darren Hale, Affiliate Team Lead at VL Partners, representing the Lilibet affiliate program. With over eight years of experience across affiliates and B2B providers, Darren shares valuable insight into how VL Partners builds scalable, transparent, and highly customized affiliate relationships.

Lilibet Affiliate Program

Guest: Darren Hale, Affiliate Team Lead at VL Partners

Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role within the casino’s affiliate program?

My name is Darren Hale, and I am the Affiliate Team Lead for VL Partners and King Revenue Partners. I have over eight years of experience within the iGaming sector, having previously worked with prominent affiliates and B2B providers across the industry.

Within my role, I support the Head of Affiliates while managing the affiliate team on a day-to-day basis. I work closely with both our internal teams and our affiliate partners to ensure the consistent delivery of a first-class service across all of our brands.

What makes your affiliate program stand out compared to others in the market?

Our strategy is not based on a one-size-fits-all approach. We recognise that every affiliate is unique, and as a result, we tailor our engagement with each partner individually.

This can include exclusive welcome offers, bespoke landing pages, and customized commercial structures. We prioritise close collaboration with our partners, who naturally have a deeper understanding of their traffic. This allows us to build long-term, meaningful partnerships and develop solutions that are truly aligned with their strengths.

Additionally, our affiliate team brings extensive experience and market knowledge, positioning them as experts who can support affiliates effectively across all stages of growth.

Which types of affiliates tend to perform best with your brand, and why?

Our affiliate program works with a wide range of partners, including affiliates specialising in SEO, PPC, social media, influencer marketing, and retargeting campaigns.

While we achieve strong performance across all channels, our metrics indicate slightly stronger results within the SEO and PPC segments. That said, our diversified affiliate framework allows us to test multiple traffic sources and continuously refine our approach to find the optimal balance that benefits both the affiliate and our organization.

What commission models do you offer, and how flexible are you with custom deals?

We support a broad range of commission models, including CPA, revenue share, hybrid deals, flat fees, and listing fees. One of the key strengths of our platform is its flexibility, allowing us to create highly tailored agreements for each partner.

We can even offer the same affiliate multiple agreements across identical traffic sources. For example, an SEO affiliate generating both casino and sports traffic can operate under separate commercial structures. Additionally, if an affiliate identifies specific pages that consistently generate higher player value, we can create bespoke agreements for those individual pages.

This level of flexibility enables us to structure mutually beneficial deals that support long-term success.

How do you support affiliates after they join the program?

Once onboarding is completed, each affiliate is assigned a dedicated affiliate manager who acts as their primary point of contact. This ensures continuity, accountability, and a clear communication channel.

The affiliate manager works closely with the partner to support creatives, offers, tracking, postbacks, and performance optimisation. Comprehensive ROI analysis is also conducted to identify opportunities for growth and improvement. This dedicated structure allows us to deliver a true 360-degree service to every partner.

What does a successful long-term affiliate partnership look like to you?

Strong relationships and complete transparency form the foundation of any successful long-term partnership. Close collaboration is essential to building trust and achieving sustainable growth for both parties.

Our focus is firmly on long-term performance rather than short-term gains. Affiliates understand their traffic better than anyone, so working together is critical to achieving optimal outcomes. Our primary objective is to onboard high-quality players, and that objective is directly linked to the strength of our affiliate partnerships.

Transparency also allows us to have open discussions if performance falls short, while enabling strategic optimisation during periods of strong momentum. We are fully committed to growing alongside our partners over the long term.

How do you handle tracking, reporting, and transparency with affiliates?

All affiliates are provided access to our dedicated affiliate portal, allowing them to monitor performance data on a daily basis. For partners requiring deeper insights, we also offer postbacks and advanced tracking options.

We supply dedicated tracking links tailored to each affiliate’s needs, enabling accurate tracking of conversions and revenue. Transparency is a core value for us, and we believe it is essential for building lasting trust with our partners.

What markets, traffic sources, or verticals are you currently prioritizing?

At the beginning of 2026, our primary focus is on the Finnish and GCC markets, across both casino and sports verticals.

We remain open to all traffic channels, including SEO, PPC, social media, paid acquisition, influencer marketing, and streaming partnerships. Looking ahead, 2026 represents an exciting growth phase for VL Partners, with expansion into several new territories planned. Additional updates will be shared during Q2, but overall, we anticipate a strong year driven by multiple new initiatives.

How do you approach affiliate feedback, suggestions, or performance concerns?

We actively encourage feedback, as every affiliate requires a different approach. When a performance concern is raised, we investigate internally and collaborate with teams such as CRM to improve player value and retention.

Affiliates know their audiences better than anyone, and their feedback often leads to meaningful improvements. Our goal is always to ensure our partners succeed, and open communication plays a key role in achieving that.

Why should affiliates consider starting or scaling with your program today?

VL Partners offers an affiliate program built on long-term collaboration and mutual growth. Our strategy focuses on sustainable partnerships supported by flexible commercial terms and lifetime revenue share agreements.

With no negative carryover, affiliates are protected from downside risk while sharing in our success. Every partner receives a customised experience backed by a dedicated affiliate team. We encourage affiliates to connect with us and explore how we can grow together.

Closing remarks

We extend our sincere appreciation to Darren Hale, Affiliate Team Lead at VL Partners, for generously sharing his expertise and insights into the Lilibet affiliate program. His thoughtful perspectives on affiliate strategy, transparency, and long-term partnership building provide valuable guidance for affiliates navigating the iGaming landscape.

We would also like to thank our audience at The Inside Bet, in collaboration with Affiliate Roulette, for your continued support and engagement. Your enthusiasm drives our commitment to delivering meaningful, high-quality editorial content.

As Affiliate Program Industry Insights continues, we look forward to sharing more in-depth interviews designed to inform, empower, and connect the global iGaming affiliate community.

Thank you for being an integral part of our journey.