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iGaming affiliate glossary

Most expensive misunderstandings in an affiliate negotiation start with a word, not a number. These 30 terms are grouped into four blocks: tracking, player metrics, revenue definitions and deal structures. Each one is defined the way it is actually used in a Malaysian deal conversation.

This glossary defines the 30 terms that come up most often in iGaming affiliate deals, including NGR, GGR, CPA, revenue share, negative carryover, postback and attribution window. It is written for partners on the U88 programme, which covers Malaysia only, has run since 2020, settles in MYR and supports players in three languages around the clock. No commission rate is published here.

A statement reads in one direction. Stakes minus player winnings gives GGR. GGR minus bonus cost, payment charges, gaming duty and admin fee gives NGR. Revenue share is calculated on NGR, so the list of permitted deductions decides your income more than the headline percentage does. U88 settles monthly and quotes every rate per partner.

Table: the three commission structures compared. Every rate is negotiable and is confirmed in the signed agreement, not on this page.
Structure	Calculated on	Cash flow	Suits	Rate
Revenue share	Net gaming revenue (NGR)	Builds slowly, compounds with retention	SEO content sites, long-lived communities	Negotiable
CPA	Qualifying first-time depositors	Fast return, fixed ceiling	Media buyers, short campaign cycles	Negotiable
Hybrid	First-time depositors plus NGR	Covers cost first, keeps the tail	Partners buying at scale	Negotiable

How does affiliate tracking actually work?

Affiliate: A partner who sends traffic to an operator and is paid out of the revenue or the players that traffic produces, rather than out of a fixed media fee. On this programme an affiliate promotes U88 to players in Malaysia only.
Affiliate manager: The named person inside the operator who agrees your deal, checks that your tracking fires correctly and chases settlement queries. U88 assigns one per partner, so commercial questions do not sit in a general support queue.
Tracker (affid): The unique partner identifier appended to your promotional URL. Every click, registration and deposit carrying that identifier is credited to you. If a redirect strips the parameter, the player arrives untracked and is not attributed to anyone.
Deep link: A tracking URL that lands the player on a specific page, a slots lobby or a 4D page for example, instead of the homepage. It removes the step between the content that convinced the player and the product you were writing about.
Postback: A message the operator sends to your own system the moment a tracked event happens, such as a registration or a first deposit. It lets you read conversions in your own dashboard instead of waiting for a monthly report.
Server-to-server (S2S) tracking: Attribution passed between two servers using a stored click identifier rather than a browser cookie. It survives cleared cookies, private browsing and in-app browsers, which is why it is the more reliable method on mobile-first traffic.
Attribution window: The period after a click during which a resulting registration or deposit still counts as yours. A short window suits paid traffic that converts on the spot; a long window suits content that a reader acts on days later.
Landing page: The first page a player sees after clicking your link. Its job is one decision, usually registration, so slow loading or unclear deposit options show up directly in your conversion rate rather than in the operator's numbers.
Click-through rate (CTR): Clicks on your tracking link divided by the impressions that offered it. It measures your creative and your placement, not the operator. High CTR with a low registration rate usually means the page promised something the offer does not deliver.

Which player numbers should an affiliate watch?

First-time depositor (FTD): A player who funds their account for the first time under your tracker. It is where an anonymous click becomes a commercial fact, and it is the event most commission models are built around. At U88 the minimum deposit is RM30.
Qualifying player: A player who has met whatever conditions the agreement sets before commission counts, typically a deposit plus some minimum activity. The definition belongs in the written agreement, because it decides which of your players are actually billable.
Active player: A player who placed at least one real-money bet inside the reporting period. Counting actives instead of registrations tells you whether the traffic you sent a month ago is still worth anything today.
Turnover: The total value of bets placed, before wins are deducted. It is a volume measure, not a profit measure. A slots player recycles winnings into further bets, so a small deposit can produce very large turnover.
Lifetime value (LTV): The total net revenue a player produces from first deposit until they stop playing. It is the number that decides whether revenue share beats CPA on a given traffic source, and it can only be measured honestly after several months.
Churn: The rate at which players stop playing over a period. High churn usually points at deposit friction, slow withdrawals or weak support rather than at the traffic itself, so it is worth diagnosing before you buy more of the same traffic.
Reactivation: Bringing a dormant player back into real-money play, generally through a rebate, a rescue offer or a scheduled event such as a 4D draw. It costs far less than new acquisition and is normally credited to the original referring affiliate.
KPI (key performance indicator): The small set of measures a partnership is actually judged on, typically first-time depositors, active players, net revenue and retention. Agreeing which ones count before you start is what prevents an argument at settlement.

What do GGR, NGR and bonus cost mean on an affiliate statement?

Gross gaming revenue (GGR): Player stakes minus player winnings, before any costs are taken out. It is the operator's raw margin on the games your players played, and it is the starting figure most revenue share calculations are built from.
Net gaming revenue (NGR): GGR after agreed deductions such as bonus cost, payment charges, gaming duties and administrative fees. Revenue share is normally calculated on NGR, so which deductions are permitted matters more than the headline percentage does.
Bonus cost: The value of welcome offers, rebates and rescue bonuses credited to your players, deducted before NGR is reached. A campaign built entirely around a bonus can therefore look strong in registrations and thin in commission.
Admin fee: A fixed charge or percentage the operator subtracts when converting GGR into NGR, covering platform and processing overheads. Ask whether it is a flat percentage or a pass-through of real cost before you sign anything.
Chargeback: A deposit reversed by the bank or payment provider after the fact, usually following a disputed or fraudulent transaction. The deposit leaves the revenue calculation, and commission already paid on it is normally clawed back.
Wagering requirement: The number of times a bonus, or the deposit plus bonus, must be staked before winnings can be withdrawn. Quote it whenever you promote an offer, because a headline bonus figure without the multiple is the fastest route to a complaint.
Bonus abuse: Systematic exploitation of promotions, for example through duplicate accounts or low-risk betting patterns designed only to clear a wagering requirement. Affected players drop out of commission calculations, so traffic that arrives for the bonus alone is rarely worth much.

How are affiliate deals structured and settled?

Revenue share: A model paying you an agreed proportion of the net revenue your players generate, for as long as they keep playing. Income compounds with retention rather than with sign-up count. U88 quotes the proportion per partner: negotiable, never published.
Cost per acquisition (CPA): A fixed one-off payment for each qualifying depositing player. It returns media spend quickly and caps your downside, but you keep nothing if that player turns out to be highly profitable. U88 quotes CPA per channel: negotiable.
Hybrid deal: A reduced CPA to cover acquisition cost combined with a reduced revenue share to keep long-term upside. It is the usual landing point for partners buying media at scale who need cash flow without giving up lifetime value. Terms are negotiable.
Negative carryover: Carrying a negative revenue month forward so it has to be recovered before commission is paid again. Whether it applies at all, and whether it resets, is a term to confirm in writing before signing rather than after the first bad month.
Sub-affiliate: A partner recruited by another partner, whose production earns the recruiter an additional share on top of their own. It turns a single affiliate into a small network. Availability and rates on this programme are negotiable.
Settlement cycle: How often earned commission is calculated, approved and actually paid, and how long each stage takes. U88 settles monthly. If you fund media buying out of the same money, the cycle matters as much as the rate does.

This page is B2B commercial information for partners aged 18 and over, not a player-facing offer. Commission rates, thresholds and exclusivity terms are set in the signed agreement.

Page last updated: 6 September 2026

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