Affiliate Software in 2026: An Interview with NetRefer

Affiliate software rarely gets the spotlight in iGaming, but it sits underneath almost every acquisition strategy that actually works. It decides whether affiliates get paid correctly, whether operators can trust their reporting, and whether new markets can be launched without breaking existing setups. When it fails, it fails expensively.

I spoke with Michela Caldiero, Solution Delivery Manager at NetRefer, to get a view from inside one of the platforms that quietly powers a large share of the industry’s biggest affiliate programs. Michela spent time on the operator side at Genesis Global before joining NetRefer, which gives her a perspective most vendor-side voices don’t have: she has been the client, and now she delivers to them.

Introduction to Michela Caldiero, NetRefer

Bobby: How did you land at NetRefer, and what are the day-to-day responsibilities of a Solution Delivery Manager at an affiliate software company? How does that role differ from an account manager or support role?

Michela Caldiero: I joined NetRefer in January 2023 as a Solution Delivery Specialist, after working at Genesis Global as a Project Manager focused on launching new brands and delivering projects across Operational and Marketing teams. The move to NetRefer gave me the opportunity to broaden my experience beyond project management and grow into my current Solution Delivery Manager role.

Today, my role combines operational oversight with strategic planning. I support the projects led by the Solution Delivery team, monitor overall performance, coordinate closely with internal stakeholders, and work on the strategic elements to turn team data and project trends into actionable improvements aligned with the wider business goals.

What makes Solution Delivery different from account management or support is the focus on implementation and enablement. We understand and are aware of the commercial context and can assist with more straightforward queries, but our energy and time is dedicated to understanding the client requirements and turning those into practical solutions. Our role enables the clients with a platform setup that supports their objectives.

Bringing the Operator’s Perspective to a Vendor Role

Bobby: You spent time at Genesis Global before NetRefer, so you’ve sat on both sides of the table. How has that operator experience shaped the way you deliver solutions to NetRefer’s clients today?

Michela Caldiero: My experience at Genesis Global gave me valuable perspective, as I worked across different parts of the operator side, starting in Customer Support, moving into a Shift Leader role, and later becoming a Project Manager. That exposure helped me understand how operators function as a balanced ecosystem, where all departments’ decisions and outcomes influence one another — whether directly or indirectly.

That experience shaped the way I approached Solution Delivery from day one, as I can look at a client request not only from a platform perspective, but also from the wider operational and business context behind it.

Operationally, it helps me explain how decisions made for the NetRefer platform might need to be supported by other teams to deliver their full value, and it allows me to guide clients when something changes — especially if it is outside of their control. Strategically, understanding how client-side changes, data dependencies and external providers can impact delivery allows me to improve internal processes, and ensure our planning supports both operational efficiency and client outcomes.

Having sat on both sides helps me bring more context, empathy and practicality to the way we deliver solutions and shape improvements for the future.

Running Affiliate Programs at Scale

Bobby: NetRefer is one of the most established names in affiliate software, and often the choice for larger operators. What are the specific challenges of running affiliate programs at that tier that smaller operators simply don’t face yet?

Michela Caldiero: For larger operators, the challenges usually come from scale, complexity and the need for consistency. They often need one platform to support multiple affiliate deal structures, tailored market approaches, different reporting requirements for several internal teams, all while maintaining a consistent operational setup and an infrastructure that can sustain millions of data generated and sent daily.

At that tier, there is rarely a single solution that addresses every need in isolation. Platform configurations, user permissions, market-specific requirements and reports are often interdependent, so success depends on alignment between the client and NetRefer teams and the full understanding of the specific requirements early in the process, as well as strong platform knowledge on the client side.

This intricacy is also often reflected on the number of stakeholders involved and the layers of decision-making and approvals required. Keeping everyone informed, aligning on multiple priorities and sometimes finding a practical compromise between different teams become challenges that naturally come with operating at that scale.
High data quality and tailored approaches to reports and day-to-day operations become a necessity to allow the right people to take the right decisions at the right time in a fast-paced industry such as iGaming.

Ultimately, the challenges do not come from size itself, but from how effectively complexity is managed. These insights and best practices are shared with all our operators, regardless of their tier, to help guide them towards more efficient ways of scaling without introducing unnecessary complexity or developing habits that could limit their growth. The most successful operators are those that combine strong platform knowledge, clear internal alignment and high-quality data with well-defined processes, allowing them to scale their affiliate programmes without losing visibility, consistency or adaptability.

The Biggest Mistake in Platform Migrations

Bobby: From your seat during onboarding and implementation, what’s the biggest mistake operators make when migrating from an existing affiliate platform to a new one, and how can they avoid it?

Michela Caldiero: I would say the biggest mistake is underestimating the time, resources and coordination required. Data migrations are naturally complex, but they are sometimes treated as a technical transfer only, when in reality they require strong planning, stakeholder alignment and a clear understanding of the new platform.

A migration is not simply about moving data from one platform to another. Clients need to understand early how the new platform works, as differences between platforms can otherwise create incorrect expectations. The most critical components should therefore be discussed and agreed before a contract is signed. Once the project begins, dedicated resources should focus on learning the platform, gathering and providing the required information, and clarifying any open points so the migration can move forward with the right expectations.

To reduce the risk of delays, additional work and unnecessary complexity, operators should also plan resources and timelines carefully and maintain an open communication throughout the project. This includes aligning on milestones, planning testing activities that require cooperation between the operator and the data or platform provider and communicating any changes as early as possible.

From a Solution Delivery perspective, the most successful migrations are those where all stakeholders work as one team. When expectations are aligned, responsibilities are clear and communication remains open, the migration becomes an opportunity to optimise processes rather than simply move data.

Where the Responsibility for Tracking Accuracy Actually Sits

Bobby: On the affiliate side, tracking discrepancies remain one of the most common complaints in iGaming. What should affiliates actually be checking with operators to make sure they’re getting paid correctly, and where does the responsibility for accuracy really sit?

Michela Caldiero: For affiliates, the first and most important check is whether the reported activity aligns with what they expect to see based on their own traffic, campaigns and commercial agreement with the operator. Affiliate reports provide a strong starting point, especially for metrics such as clicks, registrations, FTDs, net revenue and expected commission. Reviewing this data regularly and identifying trends, can give affiliates valuable insight into performance and help them spot anything that looks inconsistent. If the numbers differ from expectations, affiliates should feel comfortable asking the operator for clarification.

This is why end-of-month checks are so important. They give operators the opportunity to review the previous month’s activity, identify any missing or incorrect data, correct it and avoid closing the month with unresolved discrepancies that could affect estimated rewards or affiliate payments.

In terms of responsibility for accuracy, this sits across several parties but not in the same way. Operators and their data providers, acting as data controllers, carry the main responsibility for ensuring that the correct data is captured, sent to NetRefer, and reprocessed when exceptions occur.

NetRefer’s responsibility is to process and report the data received correctly, ensure tracking is functioning as expected, and apply the configured reward setup so estimates and commission calculations are aligned with the agreed rules.

Ultimately, tracking and rewarding accuracy depends on shared ownership and proactive communication. Affiliates, operators, data providers and the affiliate marketing platform each play a different role, but the best outcomes come when discrepancies are reviewed early, responsibilities are clear, and all parties work together to ensure the data behind rewards and payments is reliable.

Advancements in Affiliate Software

Bobby: Last one: nearly four years at NetRefer means you’ve seen the affiliate software space evolve fast. What’s one thing about the industry today that would have surprised the version of you who joined?

Michela Caldiero: What would have surprised me most is how crucial data quality has become to the evolution of affiliate software. “Data-driven decisions” is something we often hear in iGaming and not only, but I have seen first-hand how it has moved from being a concept to becoming part of everyday decision-making, both within NetRefer, our clients, affiliates and other B2B companies.

Many of the developments shaping the industry are connected to data in some way, from APIs that support faster and more reliable data transfers, to BI tools and, more recently, AI. The common goal is to improve the quality, transparency and accessibility of data so that the insights extracted can be understood and used by a wider audience.

More and more client requests are now centred around data: from new reporting needs and identifying how to optimise their setup in NetRefer, to working with data or platform providers to reach a higher level of data quality. We are also seeing a higher volume of clients interested in using NetRefer to analyse traffic beyond traditional affiliation, including SEO, PPC and their own media channels. Clients increasingly want to have a holistic understanding of their market trends, ROI, traffic quality and the full player journey, starting from the first click through to conversion and ongoing performance.

I see the focus on data at NetRefer as well. Many business initiatives and new products are centred around helping clients better understand the data received in the platform every day, whether through infrastructure improvements, back-end enhancements or more client-facing initiatives — like the BI Analytics Report Builder.

Overall, the biggest shift is that affiliate software is no longer just about tracking, managing rewards, campaigns or affiliate newsletters. It is becoming a stronger decision-making layer for operators and affiliates, helping them turn accurate, transparent and actionable data into better performance, smarter optimisation and more confident strategic planning.

Thanks to Michela for taking the time to share her perspective. If you’re an operator, affiliate, or platform professional and want to be featured in an interview with List Of All Bookmakers, get in touch through our contacts page.

Michela Caldiero

Solution Delivery Manager at NetRefer

Michela Caldiero is a Solution Delivery Manager at NetRefer, where she oversees the team’s projects and turns delivery data into operational improvements. She joined NetRefer in January 2023 after time on the operator side at Genesis Global, where she moved from Customer Support to Shift Leader and Project Manager, launching new brands across Operational and Marketing teams. Michela holds a Master’s in Conservation Genetics from Manchester Metropolitan University and a Bachelor’s in Biology from Università degli Studi di Palermo.