Mithrillium Media CEO and founder Sebastian Jarosch sat down with us for an unfiltered conversation on how to scale affiliate marketing without sacrificing trust. With a track record that includes steering multiple award-winning campaigns — from EGR’s Best Affiliate Programme to Casinomeister’s Best Casino Group — Jarosch knows what it takes to build affiliate strategies that deliver, while staying true to the brand and the player.
Over the years, Jarosch has picked up some of the industry’s top honours, including Affiliate Programme of the Year from both Affpapa and SBC in 2022, and he’s helped shape programmes recognised across Europe. But beneath the accolades is a clear philosophy: combine rigorous, data-led research with authentic experiences to create partnerships that resonate.
To break down what integrity-focused affiliate growth looks like in practice, we caught up with Jarosch for an inside look. Keep reading.
Is it truly possible to scale an affiliate business in iGaming without sacrificing ethical standards or transparency?
“To scale an affiliate business, you have to think long-term instead of focusing on quick wins. Ethical standards build integrity and create returning visitors. Trust is the most valuable currency in this industry, which means prioritizing transparency, player safety, and factual content over selling deals. The real key to success is scalability through trust.”
What are the biggest temptations or pressures that can lead affiliates to compromise on integrity?
“There’s constant pressure to hit revenue targets, especially when operators offer flat fees or high CPA deals for top positions. Some affiliates may be tempted to prioritize commissions over integrity. Others might turn a blind eye on questionable brands. The biggest trap is prioritizing short-term gains over long-term user value.”
How do you ensure commercial partnerships don’t influence the objectivity of your rankings or reviews?
“Our review criteria are predefined and applied equally, regardless of the deal in place. Affiliate Commissions alone never dictate rankings. We clearly highlight licensing, reliability, payment methods and bonus conditions without any kind of sugar coating. That transparency protects both our users and our credibility.”
What systems or processes have you put in place to protect editorial independence as you grow?
“We have strict internal guidelines to ensure that our reviews are honest and prioritize the needs of our players. Reviews go through a checklist that includes licensing, support quality, withdrawals, bonus conditions, and real player feedback. Our writers are genuine industry experts that perform in depth research and hands-on testing when reviewing an operator.”
Can you share an example where you had to walk away from a potentially lucrative partnership for ethical reasons?
“We frequently receive aggressive flat-fee offers from operators that offer no value to our visitors. In one case, we received multiple complaints from users, did our own testing, and found issues with the product, responsible gaming tools and reliability. Despite the attractive commission offer, we updated our review and delisted the brand from our main pages. Long-term, that decision reinforced our credibility.”
How does putting user trust first impact your long-term performance and reputation?
“Trust leads to loyalty, higher engagement, and stronger SEO performance. Operators also recognize the quality of the traffic with high conversion rates and repeat deposits. Review sites like Casino-Groups prove that being honest about flaws or drawbacks doesn’t reduce conversion. It builds trust and improves performance, because players feel respected and informed.”
What role do compliance, responsible marketing, and accurate representation play in a high-integrity affiliate model?
“We work hand in hand with our partners to ensure that we are compliant and keep our content regularly updated. This includes current bonus offers, clear terms and conditions, and a strong focus on responsible gaming. For us, responsible marketing means following a clear moral compass and always upholding the highest ethical standards.”
How do you train or align your team to consistently uphold ethical standards at scale?
“We like to work with people who share our values and are aligned in our mission to prioritize our players with honest and transparent reviews. Everyone on the team understands their role and contributes towards our shared vision. At the same time, we recognize our responsibility towards our partners by delivering high quality traffic with fair commission structures.”
Do you believe industry-wide guidelines or certifications could help raise the bar for affiliate practices?
“A universal code of conduct or even third-party certification could raise affiliate standards within the iGaming space. It would provide operators and users with a benchmark, and affiliates with a framework to operate within. Transparency, responsible gambling promotion, and fair content practices could form the pillars of such a standard. Ultimately, however, it is the users who filter out bad actors by choosing the affiliates they trust.”
Looking to the future, what’s your vision for a scalable affiliate business that leads with integrity and delivers strong performance?
“The future affiliate model will be driven by trust, product, and transparency. It will combine AI-powered personalization, automated updates and genuine reviews with real player feedback to continuously improve content. Affiliates will need to lead with authority and build strong recognizable brands to foster loyalty. That’s how you build a business that performs and endures.”
