Sebastian Jarosch, founder of Mithrillium Media Ltd and a judge on the SBC and SiGMA awards panels, spoke to The iGaming EU about what it now takes for affiliates to hold player attention, why retention has overtaken acquisition as the core battleground, and where AI fits into the discovery layer.
From awards winner to awards judge
Jarosch is a German gambling professional, who founded Mithrillium Media Ltd over a decade ago. During his iGaming career he has won several awards, including the ones listed below.
- Casinomeister 2020 Awards Best Casino Group
- AskGamblers Awards Best Partner 2021
- EGR Nordics Awards Best Affiliate Programme 2022
- AffPapa Awards Affiliate Programme of the Year 2022
That history of being judged, and now judging others, frames the answers below. Jarosch shares his expertise with us on what separates the strongest affiliate brands from the rest of the field.
The interview
TGE: The iGaming space is more crowded than ever, what does it take for affiliates to capture player attention today?
SJ: Affiliates that want to stand out today have to focus on more than just SEO. Publishers need to build strong brands, create high-quality content by expert writers, and define a clear value proposition. Demonstrating expertise and relevance builds trust with your audience and captures their attention.
TGE: Has the battle shifted from acquiring traffic to actually retaining user attention?
SJ: Generating traffic is essential, but converting visitors and retaining them is the real challenge. Platforms like Casino Groups focus on intent, engagement, and loyalty instead of pure volume to drive sustainable growth and deliver real value.
TGE: What types of content stand out most in a saturated market, data-driven, entertaining, or highly personalised?
SJ: Well-balanced content generally performs best. Tables and graphs build trust, engaging content keeps users interested, and personalised content improves relevance. Content that meets user intent with valuable insights and expert advice converts well and drives repeat visits.
TGE: How important is speed and first impression when a player lands on an affiliate site?
SJ: Speed and first impressions are extremely important to keep your visitors engaged. The first few seconds count. A fast-loading site with intuitive navigation, clean design, and immediately visible trust signals can make the difference between a bounce and a conversion.
TGE: Do you believe attention spans are shortening, and how should affiliates adapt their content strategy?
SJ: Attention spans for younger generations are becoming shorter. Affiliates need to adapt by placing key takeaways at the top of reviews and structuring content with scannable headlines, comparison tables, pros and cons, and expert summaries. Long-form content still matters for players who want to dive deeper into analysis and context.
TGE: What role does brand identity play in making an affiliate platform memorable?
SJ: Brand identity is what makes great affiliate platforms stand out from the crowd. A recognisable logo, consistent messaging, and strong core values help build familiarity and trust with your audience, turning users into repeat visitors.
TGE: How can affiliates move beyond click-driven strategies toward building long-term engagement?
SJ: By understanding the intent of your audience and creating real value for your readers, affiliates can build long-term engagement. Players are looking for updated content, educational articles, community feedback, and expert advice. Loyalty is built through positive outcomes, expertise, and authenticity.
TGE: Do gamified or interactive elements help retain attention, or do they risk distracting users?
SJ: Gamification and interactive content can greatly help with retention. Challenges, missions, personalisation, and recommendation tools can improve engagement and retain your audience. The key is to deliver real value for your players and enhance the user journey rather than creating distractions.
TGE: How do you balance attention-grabbing content with transparency and responsible messaging?
SJ: By making sure that engagement tactics never compromise transparency and honesty. Attractive bonuses and flashy visuals can draw attention, but content must remain factual, accurate, and responsible. Successful affiliate brands understand that trust and credibility matter more than short-term conversions.
TGE: How will affiliates compete for attention as AI-driven discovery and content aggregation increase?
SJ: AI is an excellent tool for affiliates in terms of automation, data analysis, and research. However, it lacks originality, first-hand experience, authentic expertise, insider information, and cannot replicate community. As generic content becomes more common, unique value and brand authority will become the true differentiators.
What the judge is watching next
Jarosch’s answers converge on a single pattern: the affiliates winning now are the ones that can prove genuine expertise, brand depth, and community relevance rather than traffic numbers alone. That pattern is also what his fellow judges at SBC and SiGMA are scoring against in this year’s submissions. Scaling stories like SoftSwiss’s work with Stake have shown how fast the operator side can build brand authority, and Jarosch is effectively describing the affiliate-side equivalent.
With AI-generated content flooding the search layer, the next round of awards will likely separate brands that own authentic first-hand expertise from those that have automated their way to volume. That is the lens Jarosch says he is applying at the judging table, and it is the benchmark operators will use when picking affiliate partners in 2026.
