The cost of mistakes – and how ReferOn rebuilt the affiliate experience

Affiliate management in the iGaming world has long carried the feel of a high-stakes operation – complex, high-pressure and often alarmingly analogue. While the industry has been quick to chase the next big feature or the latest buzzword, the most expensive and persistent problems have not come from missing functionality – they have come from the foundation itself.

At the heart of the issue is architectural inertia. Many legacy platforms were conceived in the early 2000s, marketed in the early 2010s, and now, in 2025, are expected to seamlessly integrate AI and meet modern performance demands. It is a little like strapping a rocket to a wooden cart – no matter how fast or flashy it looks, it is not going anywhere meaningful.

Then there is the user experience – or lack thereof. Over the years, platforms have accumulated layer upon layer of hard-coded logic and dated UX/UI. Reward engines, once cutting-edge, have morphed into unmanageable relics. They are so complex and counterintuitive they might as well be written in ancient script – impossible to scale, harder still to explain. The result is an ecosystem bloated with irrelevant settings and barren of the real flexibility affiliate managers need.

Perhaps the most damaging of all, however, is the fragmentation. Reporting systems speak in conflicting languages, leaving finance teams reconciling mismatched invoices and affiliates sifting through multiple dashboards just to track a single source of traffic. Operators are left in a state of constant doubt – uncertain of their data, suspicious of their platforms and unarmed with the clarity needed to make confident, real-time decisions.

A new start

These are not surface-level glitches; they are structural failings and they are costing businesses dear. Financially, operators have lost money because they cannot track performance of affiliate marketing programmes accurately. Fixing errors is time-consuming, unproductive and dispiriting, all of which can contribute to burnout among team members.

According to Vlad Bondarenko, head of product at state-of-the-art affiliate management system ReferOn, this web of complications has persisted because most platforms were built over a decade ago. Rather than overhaul the foundations, companies simply added more layers – effectively putting duct tape over deep structural cracks. They chased “just one more feature” instead of rethinking how affiliate systems should function. Feedback was ignored and scalability suffered.

While some have attempted to solve these industry-wide challenges using AI, ReferOn argues that this often only exacerbates the underlying issues. Launched in February 2023, ReferOn seeks to start afresh with its comprehensive suite of tools and services from transparent data reports to management and accounting functionalities.

“AI ends up explaining why things are broken rather than helping users act and make decisions,” Bondarenko says. “At ReferOn, we’ve taken a different path. We’re not just adding features – we’re redefining the logic behind them. Simplicity, transparency and automation aren’t marketing slogans for us – they’re core design principles. That’s why we believe we’re not just evolving affiliate management; we’re helping to fix it.”

Market needs

ReferOn embarked on its journey by concentrating not on adding more features, but by deploying better logic. There would not be a wish list, but a pain list.

ReferOn created a simple rule – every feature must pass three filters. First, it must deliver tangible business value by driving revenue or enhancing client satisfaction. Second, it must align strategically with the company’s priorities and be introduced at the right time. And third, it must be sustainable – something the team can realistically support and maintain over the long term.

“If a feature clears all three, it moves forward,” Bondarenko explains. “Otherwise, it goes to the backlog. We also use Objectives and Key Results (OKR), but as a startup, priorities shift fast based on partner feedback and market needs.

“Instead of a fixed roadmap, we work in ‘priority streams’: critical business features, scalability and architecture, support and operations, and ad hoc requests. Stream Zero is always integrations and migrations to support growth.

“Importantly, we break features down into realistic Minimum Viable Products (MVP). If something takes more than a month, we cut it down. This ensures we stay focused and ship the right features – not just fast, but smart.”

Over the past two years, ReferOn has delivered a transformative experience for its clients. Their momentum is perhaps no surprise when you consider the hidden costs of outdated legacy systems – such as companies being charged as much as €5,000 simply to add a single geo column to a report. 

“Honestly, the best part is when something that used to be a pain point now feels obvious,” Bondarenko adds. “I’ll never forget when a client complained that our reports were too complex. We sent a 30-second video explaining how to use them. They replied, ‘Wow. I’m embarrassed. It’s actually very simple. Sorry I even asked.’

“That’s when I knew we were on the right track. When a complex system feels simple, that’s real product quality.”

Building trust

Trust is arguably the most important factor in affiliate relationships, and this is something ReferOn puts a focus on through both its collaborative attitude and transparent technology.

As Bondarenko says: “Trust doesn’t come from dashboards – it comes from how a system behaves when no one is watching. In affiliate partnerships, trust is built through clarity, consistency and control.”

ReferOn therefore designed its platform not just to track data, but to act like a partner who respects the operator’s process. It ensures clarity by full transparency of payout logic, deal conditions and reward flows. There are no hidden steps or silent overrides.

Meanwhile, inconsistency is one of the biggest sources of distrust – same traffic, same numbers, but different payouts. “That’s a red flag,” Bondarenko says. “Our logic behaves consistently every time, making trust scalable.”

Trust is also built by what ReferOn does not do. It does not upsell basic features and it believes dynamic reporting should be standard. It also does not hide key metrics behind paywalls or create artificial complexity just to charge for custom solutions.

“In short, good design fosters trust,” Bondarenko explains. “It’s not just about a helpful account manager – it’s about building a system that’s inherently trustworthy.”

ReferOn brings a refreshing level of self-awareness to the table, with Bondarenko unafraid to spotlight areas the team is actively working to improve.

“Feature adoption is still a weak spot for us – we have powerful tools that not everyone discovers right away,” he says. “That’s on us. We’re now focusing on onboarding and making sure users not only have great tools but know how to use them.

“The good news is that’s a solvable problem. As long as we keep listening, improving, and prioritising what matters, the product gets better with every release.”

Becoming an affiliate ecosystem

Looking ahead, ReferOn wants to move beyond the confines of being seen as a platform that simply solves core issues. Instead, it will morph into a scalable ecosystem.

To supplement its tools that offer in-depth reporting, easy rewards, payments and effortless tracking, ReferOn is exploring the development of a unified affiliate profile which would be like a Google account for affiliate programmes. ReferOn is also working on an AI-powered junior affiliate manager and reassessing how campaigns work. The company is looking forward to showcasing these new projects at iGB L!VE in July. For those interested in exploring how it all works behind the scenes, a limited number of 1-on-1 sessions can be booked through the ReferOn page here.

“The unified affiliate profile would have one login, one identity, one place to manage payments across brands, one-click registrations, shared preferences and payout histories,” Bondarenko says. “It’s not a finished feature – it’s a vision. But it could redefine affiliate onboarding and ease the operational burden.

“The AI-powered junior affiliate manager would not be a chatbot. We’re exploring a real assistant that detects traffic anomalies, suggests offers, generates tracking links, uploads invoices and explains mismatches. A ‘second brain’ focused on operations. We’re also rethinking how campaigns work – what if discovering and activating an offer took 10 seconds? What if the system generated everything automatically, including tracking and deal assignment? These are directions we’re actively prototyping.”

Looking towards its broader vision of establishing infrastructure for a scalable ecosystem, Bondarenko concludes: “We’re preparing to share tools across brands, unify user experiences and evolve from a platform into a foundation for the next phase of affiliate technology.”