Affiliate Tracking Software in 2026: An Interview with RavenTrack

Affiliate tracking software sits right at the centre of the iGaming industry yet rarely gets the coverage it deserves. Operators need it to pay affiliates accurately. Affiliates need it to know whether their traffic is actually converting. And when it goes wrong, everybody loses money.

I spoke with Max Bennett, Technical Account Manager at RavenTrack, to get a professional’s view on how the tracking space actually works, what goes wrong, and where things are heading. Max works across operators, affiliates, and internal development teams on a daily basis, which gives him a perspective that’s hard to find publicly.

Max Bennett with colleagues at RavenTrack’s office.

Introduction to Max Bennett, RavenTrack

Bobby: How did you land at RavenTrack, and what are the day-to-day responsibilities of a Technical Account Manager in affiliate software?

Max Bennett: I landed at RavenTrack after spending a couple of years working in e-commerce, where I was heavily involved in data, partnerships, and performance analysis. I wanted to move into a faster-paced industry with more focus on technology and long-term client relationships, and affiliate software felt like the perfect fit. Since joining RavenTrack, I’ve worked closely with operators, affiliates, and internal development teams, which has given me exposure to both the commercial and technical sides of the industry.

As a Technical Account Manager, my day-to-day responsibilities sit somewhere between client success, product consultancy, and technical support. A big part of the role involves helping partners integrate and fully utilise the RavenTrack platform, whether that’s around tracking setups, reporting, attribution, API functionality, or custom feature requests. I also spend a lot of time analysing performance data, troubleshooting tracking issues, liaising with developers on enhancements or bugs, and ensuring clients are getting maximum value from the platform. Because affiliate software is so data-driven, the role requires a strong understanding of KPIs such as registrations, FTDs, net revenue, commissions, and player activity, alongside the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Where RavenTrack Fits in the Market

Bobby: The affiliate tracking space has some big names: Income Access, Cellxpert, and MyAffiliates, to name a few. Without throwing shade at the competition, where does RavenTrack genuinely do things differently, and what kind of operator or affiliate tends to be the best fit for you?

Max Bennett: The affiliate tracking space is definitely competitive, and platforms like Income Access, Cellxpert, and MyAffiliates have all built strong reputations over the years. What I think genuinely makes RavenTrack different is the balance between flexibility, responsiveness, and the level of partnership we build with clients.

A lot of platforms in the industry offer solid tracking, reporting, and commission management, those are the fundamentals everyone expects. Where RavenTrack stands out is in how adaptable the platform is and how quickly we can react to operator needs. We’re very hands-on with clients, and because the company is agile, feedback can move from conversation to development much faster than you’d typically expect from larger, more rigid providers. That’s especially valuable in industries like iGaming and sports betting, where requirements evolve constantly across markets, regulations, and acquisition strategies.

Another difference is the level of transparency and data accessibility. Operators and affiliates increasingly want deeper insight into performance data, segmentation, custom reporting, and automation, rather than just static dashboards. RavenTrack focuses heavily on giving partners meaningful, actionable data rather than overwhelming them with unnecessary complexity.

The operators that tend to fit best are ambitious brands that want a close working relationship with their platform provider rather than just a “set-and-forget” software solution. That could be fast-growing sportsbook or casino brands, multi-brand operators, or businesses entering new markets that need flexibility and support as they scale. On the affiliate side, partners who really value accurate tracking, detailed reporting, and open communication tend to work very well with us because they can see exactly how their traffic is performing and where opportunities exist to optimise.

The Most Common Affiliate Tracking Mistake

Bobby: From your seat, what’s the single most common technical mistake you see affiliates make when setting up tracking with a new operator, and what’s the fix?

Max Bennett: The most common mistake I see is affiliates launching campaigns before properly validating their tracking setup end-to-end. A lot of affiliates will check whether a click is registering, but they won’t fully test the entire player journey; from click, to registration, to FTD, all the way through to commission attribution.

In affiliate marketing, especially within iGaming, there are a lot of moving parts involved: tracking links, redirects, postbacks, cookies, sub IDs, promo codes, app tracking, geo-routing, and sometimes multiple third-party systems communicating with each other. If even one element is misconfigured, you can end up with missing conversions, unattributed players, duplicate tracking, or inaccurate reporting.

A very common example is affiliates not passing unique tracking parameters correctly, particularly sub IDs. They might send traffic using a generic campaign link without dynamic values, which makes optimisation almost impossible because they can’t identify which source, creative, or placement actually generated the player.

The fix is surprisingly simple: implement a structured QA process before scaling traffic. Every affiliate should test the full conversion flow themselves using live tracking links and verify:

• The click records correctly
• Registration appears against the correct affiliate account
• FTD attribution works properly
• Sub IDs pass through reporting accurately
• Revenue and commission models calculate as expected

It’s also important to communicate early with the operator’s affiliate or technical team. At RavenTrack, a lot of issues can be avoided just by doing a proper pre-launch validation together rather than trying to troubleshoot after traffic is already live. The affiliates who perform best long term are usually the ones who treat tracking setup as a technical process, not just a marketing task.

Questions Operators Should Be Asking (But Aren’t)

Bobby: On the operator side: when a brand is shopping for affiliate software, what are the questions they should be asking that they usually aren’t?

Max Bennett: Most operators go into vendor selection thinking “features + price + UI,” but the real differences only show up once you’re live and scaling. The better questions are the uncomfortable, operational ones that usually get skipped.

One of the biggest is: “What actually happens when something breaks on a Friday at 9pm during peak traffic?” Not in theory, but in practice. You’re trying to understand escalation paths, real response times, and whether you’re dealing with a genuine technical partner or a ticket queue.

Another one is: “How much of this platform is configurable without a development cycle?” A lot of systems are robust, but operators often underestimate how often they’ll need changes, new GEO rules, commission logic tweaks, reporting filters, partner-specific setups. The difference between “configurable” and “needs dev sprint” becomes massive over time.

Then there’s data depth: “Can we rebuild our entire acquisition strategy from your raw data exports or API?” Some platforms are great for dashboards, but weak when you try to do deeper BI work. Operators scaling into multiple markets or brands often hit this wall around the point where they’re processing hundreds of thousands to millions of clicks per day, and suddenly need full control of attribution and segmentation.

And finally: “Are we buying software, or are we buying a team that will actively help us optimise revenue?” Because the best affiliate setups aren’t just tracking tools, they become an extension of the operator’s acquisition function. That’s where platforms differentiate far more than they do in feature lists or sales demos.

Attribution in the Privacy Era

Bobby: Attribution is getting harder everywhere: cookie deprecation, iOS privacy changes, regulators tightening up on tracking in markets like the UK and Germany. How is RavenTrack adapting, and what should affiliates be doing now to future-proof their setups?

Max Bennett: Attribution has definitely become more complex over the last few years, and it’s not going to reverse. Between cookie restrictions, iOS privacy changes, and tighter regulatory environments in markets like the UK and Germany, the industry is shifting away from “perfect tracking” toward “best possible visibility with compliant methods.”

From our side at RavenTrack, the focus has been on making attribution as resilient and flexible as possible without relying on fragile client-side tracking. That means leaning more into server-to-server (S2S) integrations, first-party tracking approaches, and ensuring data is captured and passed in a way that isn’t overly dependent on browser-based cookies.

We’re also seeing more demand for hybrid attribution setups, where operators can combine deterministic tracking (like registered user IDs or postback confirmations) with broader click-level data to maintain visibility even when browser-level signals are missing or restricted. The goal isn’t to “replace” lost tracking signals, but to make sure operators still have reliable, decision-grade data.

On the affiliate side, the biggest shift is mindset. The affiliates who are future-proofing themselves are the ones moving away from purely cookie-dependent strategies and focusing more on:

• Strong sub-ID structuring so they can still optimise at a granular level
• First-party data capture where possible (email capture, funnels, landing pages they control)
• Cleaner, more transparent traffic sources that reduce ambiguity in attribution
• Working more closely with operators to align on tracking setup rather than treating it as a black box

Another important point is redundancy. Smart affiliates are increasingly testing multiple tracking touchpoints, not to duplicate reporting, but to ensure they’re not overly reliant on a single attribution path that could degrade under privacy constraints.

The reality is attribution isn’t disappearing, it’s becoming more controlled and more technical. The operators and affiliates who adapt best are the ones who treat tracking as part of their infrastructure, not just a marketing afterthought, and build setups that can still perform even when browser-level data becomes less reliable over time.

Where AI Is Actually Moving the Needle

Bobby: AI is creeping into every corner of iGaming: content, customer support, fraud detection. Where do you see it actually moving the needle in affiliate tracking and reporting, and where is it mostly hype right now?

Max Bennett: AI is definitely one of those topics where there’s a lot of noise, but in affiliate tracking and reporting there are a few areas where it’s already genuinely useful, and a few where it’s still mostly marketing gloss.

Where it’s actually moving the needle today is in data analysis and anomaly detection. When you’re dealing with large-scale affiliate programs running across multiple GEOs and brands, you can have millions of clicks and conversions flowing through daily. AI is very good at spotting patterns humans would miss, for example:

• Sudden drops in conversion rate on specific traffic sources
• Unusual spikes in click-to-registration ratios that may indicate tracking issues or low-quality traffic
• Affiliate performance drift over time that isn’t obvious in standard dashboards
• Early signals of fraud or incentivised traffic patterns

In that sense, AI is becoming more of a “monitoring layer” on top of traditional tracking systems rather than replacing them. It helps technical teams prioritise where to look first instead of manually digging through reports.

Another real use case is reporting automation and summarisation. Instead of manually building commentary around performance data, AI can help generate first-pass insights like “top 10 affiliates by net revenue growth” or “GEOs with declining FTD efficiency over 30 days.” It doesn’t replace analysis, but it speeds up the process significantly.

Where it’s still mostly hype is predictive attribution and fully autonomous optimisation. There’s a lot of talk about AI “deciding where to allocate affiliate spend” or “automatically optimising commission structures in real time,” but in reality, affiliate ecosystems are too noisy and too dependent on external variables, media buying strategies, brand changes, seasonality, regulatory shifts, for AI to reliably make those decisions in isolation.

Another overhyped area is replacing attribution models entirely with AI-based guessing. In regulated, high-value environments like iGaming, operators can’t afford “black box” attribution logic. They need traceability, auditability, and clear rules-based tracking. AI can assist, but it can’t replace deterministic tracking without creating commercial and compliance risk.

At RavenTrack, the practical view is that AI works best when it sits on top of clean, structured data, not when it tries to reinvent the tracking layer itself. The fundamentals still matter most: accurate click tracking, reliable postbacks, clean affiliate hierarchies, and transparent reporting logic. AI just helps you interpret that data faster and spot issues earlier, rather than replacing the system that produces it.

Thanks to Max for taking the time to share his 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.

Max Bennett

Technical Account Manager

Max Bennett is a Technical Account Manager at RavenTrack, where he works at the intersection of client success, technical support, and product consultancy. Max holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Newcastle University and spent two years in e-commerce data analytics before moving into the technology industry. At RavenTrack, he works closely with operators, affiliates, and internal development teams, helping clients get the most out of the platform across tracking setups, attribution, reporting, and API integrations. He is based in Manchester, England.