Cost per Acquisition (CPA)

What is 'Cost Per Acquisition'

CPA or cost per acquisition refers to a fee paid to people who get players to sign up to a casino or become part of a betting group. It works by rewarding people who get real money players to sign up via an affiliate link on their site. If a casino, for example, gains a new customer via the affiliate link and makes a deposit into their newly formed account, the owner of the affiliate link will receive a flat fee no-matter how the player performs on the casino's site. Occasionally, if a site hosting an affiliate link brings in a good amount of customers, they will receive a special rate from the casino.

'Cost Per Acquisition' Explained

Often, owners of gambling information sites will have a number of affiliate links to different casinos or betting site and will have a choice of whether to opt for CPA or 'Revenue Share'. Whereas CPA pays out a flat fee for every player that registers and deposits, Revenue Share rewards the affiliate based on the player's performance. If for example a player deposits and loses $/€100 at the casino, the link owner will get a percentage (usually between 20% and 60%).The advantage of CPA is that it guarantees the owner of the link a flat fee regardless of what they do on the casino or betting site. Revenue Share, however, can be much more lucrative if only a handful of players who click on the affiliate link turn out to be heavy gamblers (sometimes referred to as 'whales').When affiliates are considering whether or not to go for CPA over Revenue Share, it's a good idea to do research into the casino or bookmaker. Occasionally they will have chargebacks and bonuses, all of which can cut into a link owner's commission. It's not uncommon for successful affiliates to have what appears to be a five-figure income one month, only to see that decrease dramatically by the end of the month once all the fees are taken into consideration.In this case, CPA is the option to go for as players will be sure to get their flat fee rather than waiting on a player's performance and the fees that may go with it. Additionally, the casino or online bookmaker might not have a good reputation when it comes to the retention of players. If an affiliate chose Revenue Share only for an online casino to lose the player's custom after a few days, they would end up with nothing whereas all it takes is for the player to place a deposit with CPA.