In Episode 71 of The Real Roadshow and In Part 2 of our conversation with Levon Nikoghosyan, CEO of AffPapa, we get into the problems behind affiliate marketing, fake streamer numbers, creative campaigns, team building and what it actually takes to scale an iGaming business.

Levon explains why relying on one marketing channel is risky, why operators need to verify streamer traffic before spending money, and why traditional B2B marketing is becoming harder to stand out with.

What the industry is facing:

• Fake streamer numbers and inflated traffic

• Operators relying too heavily on one marketing channel

• Affiliate fraud and unverified traffic

• B2B gaming marketing becoming repetitive

• Companies playing too safe with creative campaigns

• Teams scaling faster than their internal systems and remote teams struggling without clear KPIs

What this conversation explores:

• Why operators need a multi-channel marketing strategy

• How AffPapa is verifying streamers and their traffic

• Why iGaming brands need to experiment with marketing

• How AffPapa deals with affiliate and operator complaints

• Why responsibility and curiosity matter when building teams

• How clear KPIs make remote work possible

• Why success is a process, not a final number

• What keeps Levon building AffPapa for the long term

Episode 71 of iGaming Real Talk. NOW LIVE on YouTube.

Brought to you by: St8: https://st8.io/

Endorphina: https://endorphina.com/

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Hosted by Surya Palli Connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suryapalli28/

For podcast sponsorship and collabs: surya@igamingrealtalk.com

Check out igamingrealtalk.com

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Chapters

00:00 – Fake Streamers & Inflated Numbers

01:26 – Why One Marketing Channel Isn't Enough

03:03 – How AffPapa Handles Streamers

05:18 – The Philosophy Behind AffPapa's Marketing

06:18 – Why Traditional B2B Marketing Isn't Working

07:25 – Learning From Other Industries

08:18 – When Marketing Trends Become Mainstream

09:32 – Why iGaming Marketing Is Still Old-School

11:36 – Why Brands Need to Experiment

12:29 – Building AffPapa From the Ground Up

13:39 – Fighting Affiliate Fraud & Bad Traffic

15:23 – Building a 40+ Person Team

17:23 – What Makes a Good Leader?

20:00 – Building Teams in Armenia

21:13 – Remote Work vs Office Culture

22:00 – Why KPIs Matter

23:31 – The Problem With Scaling Too Fast

24:08 – What Does Success Mean?

25:56 – Is There a Number That Means "Enough"?

27:22 – Why Small Wins Keep Us Going

28:16 – What Keeps Levon Building?

Part 2 of our conversation with Levon Nikoghosyan, CEO of AffPapa.

Are there too many iGaming events and how should companies decide which ones are worth attending?

Flexing an initial milestone of Episode 70 of iGaming Real Talk, we are here with Alex Pratt,

Managing Director at Clarion Gaming, about the changing landscape of iGaming events.

Alex shares his perspective on iGB Live, ICE, event ROI and return on objectives, measuring value

through data, the role of technology and fintech, and why an event should be treated as part of a wider

marketing campaign.

We talked about how the industry is facing:

- Too many events competing for the same budgets

- Rising costs for exhibitors and attendees

- Difficulty proving the real value of events

- Smaller suppliers competing with huge exhibition stands

- Limited time for follow-ups between events

- Growing pressure to measure attendee and buyer behaviour

What this conversation explores:

- Why iGB Live gives smaller suppliers a level playing field

- Why London gives iGB Live a unique advantage

- How ICE is expanding beyond the traditional gaming event

- Why event success should be measured by clear objectives

- How data can help prove the value of events

- Why events need to be part of a wider marketing campaign

Episode 70 of iGaming Real Talk. NOW LIVE on YouTube.

Brought to you by: St8: https://st8.io/ Endorphina: https://endorphina.com/

AI can build an app. But can it understand an iGaming business?

In Part 2 of iGaming Real Talk, David Harris and Vlad Bondarenko from ReferOn go beyond affiliate tracking to talk about AI, product development, legacy systems, migrations, and what it really takes to build B2B software for iGaming.

The industry is moving fast, but some problems are still very familiar:

• Legacy affiliate platforms that are difficult to move away from

• Large operators stuck with old workflows and systems

• Long and complex platform migrations

• Product teams building features users may not actually need

• An iGaming industry that can be slow to adopt ideas from other industries

• The growing pressure to use AI without simply adding it because it's the latest buzzword

• Finding the balance between automation and human relationships

• Building software that feels simple in an industry full of complex systems

This conversation looks at how ReferOn is tackling some of these problems.

• Using AI for real tasks like QA, prototyping and creating tracking links

• Looking outside iGaming to find better product ideas, with examples from crypto, finance and gaming

• Building around real customer problems instead of guessing what users want

• Making migrations easier by understanding how operators actually work day to day

• Showing users how the product fits their workflow, rather than forcing them to learn a completely new way of working

• Keeping the human side of iGaming alive, even as more parts of the business become automated

• Using automation to make work easier, rather than using AI simply for the sake of saying a product has AI

The conversation also gets personal, with Vlad sharing his approach to hiring, why he looks for the “spark in the eyes,” and why David believes relationships and human connection still matter in iGaming.

They also discuss ReferOn's management buyout, the future of affiliate management platforms, and where the space could be heading next.

Whether you're an operator, affiliate manager, product leader, or simply interested in the future of iGaming technology, this conversation offers valuable insights into one of the industry's fastest-evolving infrastructure categories.

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Brought to you by:

My Gaming License: https://www.mygaminglicense.com/ 9th Street Games: https://9thstreet.games/