The CPA vs RevShare debate is the most consequential financial decision an iGaming affiliate makes. Choose wrong and you leave tens of thousands on the table. Choose right and you build a compounding revenue machine. Here's the definitive breakdown with real calculations for 2026.
CPA: Cost Per Acquisition
With CPA (also called CPL or CPI depending on the network), you earn a fixed one-time payment for each qualifying player action — typically a first-time deposit (FTD). The payout is predetermined: $50, $100, $200, or more per depositing player, depending on GEO and operator.
The appeal of CPA is simplicity and immediacy. You send a player, they deposit, you get paid. No waiting, no ongoing risk. Your revenue is predictable and directly tied to your traffic volume. If you generate 100 FTDs at $80 CPA, you earn $8,000 — regardless of whether those players win or lose, stay or leave.
CPA payouts vary dramatically by market. Tier-1 GEOs (UK, Germany, Nordics) command $150–400 per FTD. Tier-2 markets (Brazil, Turkey, India) range from $40–120. Tier-3 GEOs (Bangladesh, Kenya, Vietnam) typically pay $20–60. Crypto casino CPA offers are often the highest, reaching $200–500 for qualified deposits.
RevShare: Revenue Share
RevShare means you earn a percentage of the net revenue the casino generates from your referred players — for the lifetime of those players. Standard RevShare rates range from 25% to 45%, with top affiliates negotiating 50% or higher.
Net revenue is calculated as player losses minus bonuses, payment processing fees, and sometimes a platform fee. If your referred players collectively deposit $100,000 and the casino retains $40,000 as net revenue, your 35% RevShare earns you $14,000 — and this continues every month as long as those players keep playing.
The risk with RevShare is negative carryover. If your players go on a winning streak in a particular month, the casino's net revenue from your traffic could be negative. Some programs carry this negative balance forward, meaning you earn nothing until the deficit is recovered. Others reset monthly. Always clarify the negative carryover policy before signing a RevShare deal.
The Real Math: CPA vs RevShare Over Time
Let's compare both models with realistic numbers. Assume you generate 100 FTDs per month from Brazilian traffic. Under CPA at $80 per FTD, you earn $8,000 per month, $96,000 per year. Simple, predictable, done.
Under 35% RevShare, month 1 might generate $3,500 (100 new players still exploring). Month 2: $5,200 (players from month 1 continue playing + new month 2 players). Month 3: $6,800. By month 6, you're generating $12,000+ per month because your player base is compounding. By month 12, with 1,200 cumulative referred players (many still active), monthly RevShare income can reach $18,000–25,000.
Year 1 total under CPA: $96,000. Year 1 total under RevShare: approximately $130,000–160,000. And RevShare continues growing in year 2 even if you stop sending new traffic, while CPA stops the moment your campaigns pause.
"CPA is a job — you earn when you work. RevShare is a business — you build equity that pays you even when you sleep. The best affiliates use both strategically."
Hybrid Deals: The Best of Both
Hybrid deals combine a reduced CPA payment with a lower RevShare percentage. For example, $40 CPA + 20% RevShare per FTD. This gives you immediate cash flow from the CPA component while building long-term revenue through RevShare.
Hybrid deals are ideal for affiliates who are scaling and need cash flow to fund ad spend. The CPA covers your acquisition costs, and the RevShare provides pure profit that grows over time. Most sophisticated affiliates negotiate hybrid deals as their default arrangement.
When negotiating hybrid deals, calculate the breakeven point. If a standard CPA is $80, a hybrid of $40 CPA + 20% RevShare needs to generate at least $40 in lifetime RevShare per player to match the CPA deal. With average player lifetimes of 6–12 months and average net revenue of $15–30 per player per month, the 20% RevShare component easily exceeds $40 within 2–3 months.
When to Choose CPA
CPA is the right choice when you're starting out and need to validate your funnel before committing long-term, when you're running paid traffic and need predictable revenue to calculate ROI, when the operator is new or untrustworthy and you're not confident they'll pay RevShare honestly, when you're targeting low-retention GEOs where players churn quickly, or when you need immediate capital to reinvest in scaling.
CPA is also safer for sports betting traffic during major events. World Cup bettors might deposit once for the tournament and never return. Taking $100 CPA per FTD is smarter than hoping for long-term RevShare from seasonal players.
When to Choose RevShare
RevShare makes more money when you have high-quality traffic with strong player retention (SEO and organic traffic typically has the best retention), when you trust the operator and have verified their reporting transparency, when you're targeting GEOs with high player lifetime values (Tier-1 Europe, Australia), when you have a Push-to-PWA funnel that keeps players engaged long-term, and when you're building for long-term wealth rather than short-term cash flow.
The ultimate RevShare strategy is building an organic SEO asset. Players who find your site through Google search tend to have 3–5x longer player lifetimes than paid traffic players. Combine SEO traffic with RevShare deals and you're building a genuinely passive income stream.
Negotiation Tips for Better Deals
Affiliate managers expect negotiation — your initial offer is never the best available. Start by proving your traffic quality with a small CPA test. After 50–100 FTDs, present your Reg2Dep ratio, average deposit size, and player retention data. This data gives you leverage to negotiate higher CPA rates, better RevShare percentages, or favorable hybrid terms.
Volume commitments unlock better rates. If you can guarantee 200+ FTDs per month, most operators will offer premium terms. Get everything in writing, including the negative carryover policy, minimum deposit requirements for CPA qualification, and payment schedule.
Diversify across 2–3 operators to reduce dependency risk. Use CPA with one operator for immediate cash flow and RevShare with another for long-term building. This hybrid approach across multiple programs gives you both stability and growth potential.