Vlad Bondarenko, ReferOn: “From visibility to control: redefining affiliate quality”

Ahead of iGB Affiliate 2026 in Barcelona, Vlad Bondarenko, Head of Product at ReferOn, shared the company’s new challenges.

Exclusive interview.- Ahead of iGB Affiliate 2026 in Barcelona, Vlad Bondarenko, head of product at ReferOn, shared insights about the company’s challenges and objectives.

In an exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, he discussed affiliate operations, regulation, how AI is improving partner quality control, and compliance challenges. He also shared details about the company’s participation in the expo that will take place on January 20-21.

How do you ensure affiliates are transparent about traffic sources?

We don’t pretend that there is a universal way to automatically verify traffic sources with absolute certainty. Such tools simply don’t exist today. That’s why we don’t build our model around “asking affiliates to be honest.” Instead, we build it around structure and visibility.

In ReferOn, affiliates must declare the traffic source when creating a tracking link, and that declaration is tied to reporting and payout logic. As a result, traffic sources are not abstract labels — they’re measurable performance indicators.

Affiliate managers can then clearly see how each traffic type performs across conversions, deposits, retention, and long-term value. When one traffic source consistently underperforms or behaves differently from the rest, it becomes immediately visible in the reports.

We’re also actively researching automated traffic classification based on behavioural and performance signals to better understand traffic characteristics over time. However, the core principle stays the same: make traffic behaviour observable and accountable at scale.

What tools help detect fake or low-quality leads?

“Fraud” encompasses a lot of different things, and can occur at multiple levels — clicks, player behaviour, or overall traffic patterns — and each layer requires a different type of analysis.

At the click level, we provide a detailed Click Report that allows teams to analyse IP addresses, user agents, timestamps, and repetition patterns. This helps affiliate managers investigate suspicious activity and identify clear anomalies. In parallel, we continue to invest in automation that strengthens pattern-based detection and reduces reliance on purely manual checks.

Beyond clicks, fraud detection becomes a more systemic process. We support the use of fraud-related statuses coming from external data and platform providers, which can then be applied inside the system to segment traffic, adjust deal logic, or define how specific activity is treated in reporting and payouts.

What matters most is that fraud detection is not treated as a single feature, but as a comprehensive framework. The underlying API and data model are designed to combine multiple signals into consistent operational decisions.

In practice, this multi-layered approach allows operators to define what “low-quality” or “unacceptable” traffic means for their business and act on it in a structured, scalable way.

Is AI improving partner quality control?

AI is starting to help, but the industry is still very early. Many “AI” features today are limited to chat-based interfaces on top of existing data. They can answer simple questions or summarise reports, but they don’t fundamentally change how quality control works.

The real value of AI will only emerge when it is deeply integrated into the platform’s infrastructure. Without structured data, consistent traffic classification, and clean APIs, AI has very little to work with. This is why we focus first on building an AI-ready foundation rather than rushing into superficial AI features.

In terms of roles, AI can’t replace experienced human affiliate managers who make strategic decisions and manage relationships. However, it can help significantly with the more mundane tasks, like inbox handling, basic partner support, tracking link creation, repetitive technical actions, and the like.

“The real value of AI will only emerge when it is deeply integrated into the platform’s infrastructure.”

Vlad Bondarenko, head of product at ReferOn.

When it comes to quality control specifically, AI works best as an early-signal and operational layer: spotting anomalies, flagging unusual behaviour, and reducing the time between issue detection and action. It doesn’t remove human responsibility, but it significantly reduces manual load and reaction time.

In short, AI is not yet the brain of affiliate quality control — but it is already becoming the hands that execute and the sensors that monitor at scale.

How do you see affiliate regulation evolving?

The challenge with “affiliate regulation” is that, in many cases, it doesn’t exist as a clearly defined framework. In igaming, regulation is typically applied to operators, while affiliates are indirectly regulated through contracts, policies, and platform rules, rather than through direct legal obligations.

What’s changing is the push toward accountability. Regulators are increasingly expecting operators to demonstrate control over acquisitions, including clearer visibility into traffic sources, marketing practices, and, in some cases, partner identification.

Affiliate KYC is a good example. It remains inconsistent today, but is likely to become more prevalent as compliance pressure increases in regulated markets. We expect stronger requirements around partner identification, ownership transparency, and auditability, even if these rules are enforced through operators rather than regulators directly engaging affiliates.

In practice, this means affiliate platforms will increasingly be expected to demonstrate “who did what, when, and how” through structured partner data, traffic categorisation, and traceability. The key shift is not toward heavier regulation, but toward provable responsibility. Operators who cannot explain their affiliate activity will carry the risk. Those who can demonstrate structured processes and visibility will be in a much stronger position.

It’ll be exciting to see the discussions around the evolution of affiliate regulation at iGB Affiliate 2026.

“We approach events like iGB Barcelona with an open mindset.”

Vlad Bondarenko, head of product at ReferOn.

How do you work with operators on compliance issues?

Our approach to compliance is practical rather than theoretical. In most cases, operators already understand their regulatory obligations, but the challenge is translating those requirements into day-to-day affiliate operations.

We work with operators to turn compliance rules into system logic. That includes defining allowed traffic types, setting clear conditions for affiliate participation, structuring reporting so that activity is traceable, and ensuring that historical data can be reviewed when needed. When compliance rules are embedded into workflows, they stop being a manual control layer and become part of normal operations.

Another important aspect is alignment. Compliance, marketing, and finance often operate with different interpretations of the same rules. By centralising data and decision logic, we help operators reduce internal friction and avoid situations where compliance issues are discovered only after payments are made or campaigns are scaled.

The goal is not to restrict affiliate activity, but to make it controllable. When operators have visibility and clear rules in place, compliance becomes easier to manage and far less disruptive to growth.

Is real-time compliance becoming a must-have?

If compliance is treated as a monthly checkbox, then real-time control may seem unnecessary. But in affiliate operations, that approach no longer works.

Affiliate traffic is dynamic. Campaigns can scale or break within days, sometimes within hours. If issues are detected weeks later, compliance turns into damage control rather than prevention. By that point, traffic has already been delivered, payments may already be processed, and the risk has already materialised.

Instead, what’s becoming essential is real-time visibility and control. Operators need to see what’s happening while it’s happening — across traffic types, sources, and performance signals — in order to intervene early when abnormalities arise.

In practice, this means faster feedback loops: clearer reporting, quicker anomaly detection, and the ability to pause, adjust, or review traffic before it escalates into a compliance or financial issue. This is the only approach that scales in modern affiliate ecosystems.

So yes, real-time capabilities are becoming a must-have — not because regulators demand it explicitly, but because the speed of the affiliate model makes delayed control ineffective.

What type of partnerships are you aiming to strengthen through your participation in iGB Affiliate 2026?

We approach events like iGB Barcelona with an open mindset. We are not focused on one specific partnership model — we’re open to working with different types of players across the ecosystem, as long as there is a clear long-term fit.

While operators and affiliate programs are our direct clients, we see affiliates themselves as a very important part of the equation. Affiliates often act as informal advisors to operators, and their recommendations carry significant weight. Even if they are not our customers, they can become strong ambassadors for more modern, transparent, and controllable affiliate platforms — especially when they experience the difference firsthand.

We already use AI-driven approaches internally to support lead discovery and qualification, and this is an area we continue to explore further. The goal is not volume for the sake of volume, but identifying the right partners and conversations more efficiently.

Overall, our focus is on building meaningful connections — partnerships that help move the affiliate ecosystem toward more mature, data-driven, and scalable operations.

ReferOn will attend iGB Affiliate 2026 in Barcelona from January 20 to 21 at Fira Gran Via, Hall 8, Stand L-58.

1-on-1 meetings can be booked with the team now.