Affiliate Industry
An insight to the Italian betting market with Eskil Kvarnström, CEO of Leadstar Media
The Italian betting market has a long and established tradition dating back to the post-war years of the 1940s. A familiar feature to many generations of Italians, it continues to register growth on an annual basis. 2019 in particular was a positive year for the betting market, registering a total spend of €1.6 billion. It builds on the €1.46 billion spent in the previous year, marking a considerable increase of 7.4% in total.
A key player driving the expansion of the market as a whole is the online betting community in itself. Recent figures presented by Agimeg, show an exponential increase for the Italian online betting market with a growth of 59.8% in January 2020 compared to January 2019. Data that confirms the ongoing trend of the increasing popularity in betting online as opposed to visiting the conventional brick and mortar shops across the whole country.
To discuss this further, we have invited CEO & Founder of Leadstar Media Eskil Kvarnström, who hosts the affiliate page in Italy.
For those that don’t know Leadstar Media, please tell us a bit more about your company?
Leadstar Media was founded 12 years ago with the aim to conquer the iGaming affiliate market and deliver high quality leads to our partners. To achieve this, we focus on creating high quality content that is combined with a strong SEO-strategy. Currently, we are active across 16 different geographical markets including the Italian market.
What lays behind the decision to create a product geared towards the Italian market?
We always knew that the italian betting market was one of the largest in Europe, and with the belief that we deliver the best product for our customers in other countries, we were certain that we would also find success in Italy. Today, BookmakerBonus.it has established itself as one of the leading sportsbook comparison sites in Italy.
Do you have any insights into the current trends of the Italian online betting market?
The shift of many italian players deciding to undertake a part or in fact all of their betting online rather than visiting brick and mortar shops is clearly visible in the increase of the traffic to our site. BookmakerBonus.it provides these players with guides and help on how to get going with their online betting. Additionally, we also discovered that most of the users visiting BookmakerBonus.it (around 80%), do so by using their mobile phones. Therefore it is crucial to have a website which is optimized for this section of the market.
What are your future plans for the italian market?
The current strategy is to continue to improve the site and achieve a 10/10 product with it. We want to provide our customers with whatever information they might need in regards to the online betting market and offer guides to help them in their shift from doing their betting offline to an online platform. For the future we are considering an expansion of our product portfolio in Italy with a completely new website that could be targeting the online casino market.
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Affiliate Industry
MelBet Partners to Bring UFC Champion Kamaru Usman to SiGMA Central Europe
Reading Time: < 1 minute
SiGMA Europe is one of the most significant events in the iGaming industry. This year, the event is taking place in Rome and will bring together over 30,000 attendees, 1200 sponsors and feature four stages with 550+ top speakers.
On November 05, in partnership with MelBet Partners & Affiliates, former MMA legend and World Champion Kamaru Usman will join the event as a special guest. At booth 5067G attendees of SiGMA Central Europe have the chance to take photos, hear insights and what it takes to rise to the top on a global stage.
During the conference, there will be two activities available for guests at MelBet’s booth:
Punch Challenge. Anyone can come to the booth on November 4 and test their punching power. The person with the strongest punch will have the honour of competing against Kamaru Usman himself.
Want to get exclusive merchandise and take a photo with the MelBet Partners & Affiliates championship belt? Visit the booth. Follow MelBet’s official Instagram account and take a picture with the belt. Those who post a story with the championship belt and tag MelBet will automatically be entered into a drawing for exclusive UFC-themed merchandise.
There will also be a private party, Triumph of the Gladiators, exclusively for the partners and representatives of MelBet Partners & Affiliates, which Kamaru himself will attend. This evening will be an epic event, where history and modernity merge into one.
The post MelBet Partners to Bring UFC Champion Kamaru Usman to SiGMA Central Europe appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Affiliate Industry
When Logic Finds a Face: Meet Refie, ReferOn’s New Living Interface
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Refie, the new living interface inside ReferOn, it’s here.
ReferOn, the next-generation affiliate management platform, has launched Refie — a built-in interface layer that gives the platform its own awareness, making interaction faster, clearer, and more human.
Refie represents a new level of interaction within ReferOn, designed to make complex affiliate data easier to perceive and act on through visual feedback that turns system logic into something instantly understandable. He now lives inside the platform’s interface, appearing on onboarding screens and system state pages, where he reflects how the system feels and responds in real time.
Refie isn’t a chatbot or a mascot — he’s an integrated UX layer that connects technical precision with human intuition. By reducing noise and guiding attention naturally, he helps affiliate managers work faster while avoiding mistakes and staying aligned with live performance data.
We like to call this approach “lazy intelligence” — systems that think before you do so you can focus on what actually matters. Refie is the first visible step toward that.

Roadmap: From Awareness to Assistance
Refie’s introduction marks the beginning of ReferOn’s next development stage.
He’s the foundation for what comes next: gamification, engagement, and, ultimately, intelligent assistance. Through him, we’ll introduce a more interactive, rewarding experience where every action feels meaningful. Over time, Refie will evolve from a visual signal into a personal AI agent — the intelligent core of the ReferOn platform.
Vlad Bondarenko, ReferOn’s Head of Product, commented, “Refie isn’t just an add-on or feature — it’s a reflection of how our platform and team think. For years, affiliate platforms have been built for reporting, not for people. We wanted to change that. Refie was born to simplify. He embodies how we think about technology: clarity, control, and connection should feel natural, not forced.
With Refie, ReferOn has learned how to say hi — not with words, but quietly, through awareness. It’s how the system shows it understands what’s happening. He represents the moment ReferOn moved beyond functionality and toward awareness, emotion, and intelligence. The launch goal is to show that the era of faceless B2B tools is ending.”
The ReferOn team will showcase the platform’s latest innovations at SiGMA Central Europe in Rome (Booth 5044). There, attendees can explore the system in action, connect with the team, and experience Refie — the living interface making its first public debut.
The post When Logic Finds a Face: Meet Refie, ReferOn’s New Living Interface appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Affiliate Industry
IZIGROUP and Gamblers Connect Enter a New Partnership
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Gamblers Connect, a leading and trusted iGaming Medium & Affiliate website for the iGaming sector, is excited to announce its latest strategic partnership with a true pillar of the European gaming industry: IZIGROUP.
Based in Malta, IZIGROUP is one of the most respected and established operators in the iGaming world. Its influence is immense, serving as the exclusive concessionaire for the National Lottery of Malta through their subsidiary, National Lottery plc. They also operate Malta’s most iconic land-based casino, the Dragonara Casino, a name synonymous with quality and heritage since 1964. The group also has a sports and casino betting platform, IZIBET.
But this partnership isn’t just about land-based prestige. IZIGROUP has powerfully translated its decades of experience into the digital realm with a formidable iGaming presence. This includes their flagship online brands, Dragonara Online Casino and IZIBET which are rapidly expanding beyond Malta into international markets.
Gamblers Connect’s mission has always been to act as the essential bridge, connecting its community with the most trusted, innovative, and responsible operators in the industry.
This partnership is a perfect embodiment of that goal. IZIGROUP’s entire operational philosophy is built on the same values: a deep commitment to safe, responsible, and engaging gaming experiences.
With €920 million in total gaming turnover last year and a clear strategy focused on digital innovation, IZIGROUP represents the gold standard of a modern, successful, and ethical gaming operator.
Gamblers Connect is proud to feature IZIGROUP’s brands and to provide users with a direct connection to their world-class portfolio. This collaboration strengthens the network and, more importantly, reinforces a promise to only partner with the best.
Gregory Busuttil, Acquisition & Retention Executive at IZIGROUP, commented: “This feels like a true partnership, not just another campaign — and that’s what sets it apart.”
Gjorgje Ristikj, Founder & CEO at Gamblers Connect, stated: “Our collaboration with IZIGROUP marks an important milestone for Gamblers Connect. Joining forces with a reputable Malta-based brand allows us to combine credibility with reach, delivering stronger exposure, better performance and a more mature presence in the industry. We see this partnership not as a campaign, but as the beginning of a long-term strategic relationship.”
The post IZIGROUP and Gamblers Connect Enter a New Partnership appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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