Interview with Leo Poitevin: Google, Gambling SEO and Affiliation in 2026

We sat down with Leo Poitevin, SEO specialist and gambling affiliate expert, to talk about the state of the industry in June 2026. From Google’s evolving algorithm to link building strategy and the role of regulators, here is what he had to say.

Is the golden age of affiliation behind us?

It depends what type of affiliate you are talking about. But overall, I would say no. For gambling affiliates, Maybe.

In June 2026, is Google doing a good job with its SERPs?

It is hard to say. Google’s communication for a very long time was saying, roughly, you just need to create good content. That was always their thing. The reality is that now, that is no longer the number one factor at all. What matters is: you need to be known, you need people to come and find you and then please them.

The problem is people say, “Google is not rewarding us even though we have good content.” But the reality is Google no longer rewards that. It rewards your current notoriety. And overall, I think it is doing a good job, because people who already have notoriety are very often good actors. They have budgets, they are interesting, they are not garbage SEO sites. So overall, for humanity, I think it is good work. The quality of results globally is getting better and better. It does not satisfy some SEO people, but I think it is better, and there is less cheating overall.

The second part is about the SERPs that are more sensitive, where Google is forced to filter. On those, in my opinion, it is just a continuous war against spammers. Until recently there were bugs, things that were working in abusive ways. Those bugs were fixed about two weeks ago (may 2026). So on competitive SERPs with spam, things are looking better.

The last thing, which is very complicated, is SERPs on illegal topics. Yes, about that.

The UK gambling market: Google is showing Affiliates with unlicensed operators. Is that a problem?

It is interesting because it is partly a response to what users are actually searching for. But at the same time, you could say Google is not doing its job so well, since legally those people should not be betting on unlicensed sites. So it always raises this question: should Google be doing this filtering work and accompanying governments, or is it a purely commercial entity positioning itself as such?

Should Google filter illegal gambling sites, or is that the government’s job?

That is a good question. What I would say is that the law is the state’s business, and it is up to the state to handle it. Google should facilitate their work. States already have tools: in France, for example, when you have French sites promoting illegal offers, the state has a take-down mechanism through Google. So the state has those tools.

I am not sure it is Google’s place to make the legal or illegal call, because that is a complicated filter to build. It means that potentially legitimate sites get filtered because Google thinks they might be illegal, when in fact they are not. I think that is a tricky situation.

I think the fact that Google says “I surface the pages that best serve users” without taking the legal dimension into account, which tends to change and evolve and which Google has less control over, is already significant work. In my view, it is good that Google focuses on the user side and gives states the tools to remove illegal sites.

On French media and their stance on AI content ownership: protectionism or a real interest?

I am fairly liberal, progressive, and pro-tech acceleration. When you know that only France, Cuba and Iran are blocking this, maybe French media should calm down a bit. Now, there is a point where they know they are in a difficult position for the future. If they can maintain their situation for another two or three years, I understand them doing it commercially.

I will not complain because it also helps me a little in day-to-day SEO. But I think for humanity, for the end consumer, it would be better if we just had this. And in my view, if people genuinely hated AI Overviews and they brought nothing to users, Google would pull them, they are very user-first. So I think it is good for people, it is good for AI adoption.

The question of information ownership when you are a journalist, when you have done your work and are not going to be paid for it, is a very open question on the web. It is tricky. But personally, I would be in favour of faster adoption in France, at least for users. And at the same time, I think media outlets do not realise the power of their own tools, particularly their value on Google for thousands of businesses. It is perhaps choosing to protect rather than reinvent.

In highly competitive niches like gambling, does link building still matter as much in 2026?

For me, it depends on your current situation. Historically I would have said go for it, eyes closed. Now, there is a new dynamic. Before, it was purely about link authority. Now, brand strength, brand notoriety, and brand search have all become very important. So if you have a big gap between your brand authority and your link building, in favour of one or the other, you need to bring both up. Investing heavily in link building when you have zero brand, I would not do that specifically.

What is very complicated in gambling is that you can’t run ads. So building brand notoriety is hard. Honestly, I do not have a magic solution for that. But the best approach is to have a great project and push it. There are casinos with super well-known brands. 1XBet or Roobet, for example, are influencing social media and producing content at massive scale. 1win with Porn marketing is really interesting. These are strategies that go off the beaten track and will allow them to build significant brand authority.

In gambling, it is particularly complicated and very few people manage to do it well. But there is also a side to it where, even if your brand is weak, doing more link building is still fine, because it also creates a massive barrier to entry. When you are making money, creating barriers to entry in your own market is smart.