Deal terms used in both verticals
CPA (cost per acquisition)
CPA is a fixed fee an operator or broker pays an affiliate for each new customer who meets the agreed qualification rules. It gives the advertiser a predictable cost per customer. The contract sets what qualifies, the validation window, any caps and how rejected customers are explained.
Hybrid deal
A hybrid deal combines a CPA fee for each qualified customer with a revenue share on the same customers. The contract has to define both parts and how they interact, for example whether the revenue share starts from the first deposit or only after the CPA period.
Cap
A cap is the maximum number of qualified customers an advertiser will pay for in a period, a market or a campaign. Customers above the cap are usually not paid, so the cap and what happens when it is reached belong in the written terms.
Validation window
The validation window is the period after a customer’s first deposit during which the advertiser checks the account before confirming payment for it. Checks typically cover identity (KYC), duplicate accounts and fraud. A written window stops payments from being held open indefinitely.
Hold period
The hold period is the time a network or programme waits before paying an affiliate for a player, so the advertiser can finish validating the account. It normally follows the advertiser’s validation window. Writing the hold period into the affiliate’s terms stops it from being extended case by case.
Clawback
A clawback reverses a commission that was already paid when a customer later fails the agreed conditions, for example after a chargeback, a reversed deposit, a failed KYC check or fraud. Good contracts list the triggers and the time limit for a clawback.
Sub-affiliate
A sub-affiliate is a publisher recruited by another affiliate to promote the same brand, with commission shared between them. Advertisers usually want every sub-affiliate named and approved, because they remain responsible for how their brand is promoted.
Brand bidding
Brand bidding means buying paid-search ads on an advertiser’s own brand name. Most affiliate terms ban or restrict it, because it competes with the advertiser’s own search ads and can capture customers who were already looking for the brand.
Incentivised traffic
Incentivised traffic comes from people rewarded for clicking, registering or depositing, for example with cash, points or prizes from the affiliate. Advertisers usually ban it or allow it only when the terms name it, because rewarded sign-ups rarely become the customers the deal is paying for.
Postback (server-to-server)
A postback is a server-to-server message from the advertiser’s tracking platform to the affiliate that reports an event, such as a registration or a first deposit, together with the click ID that produced it. Testing postbacks before launch lets both sides reconcile their numbers line by line.
Click ID and sub-ID
A click ID identifies a single click on a tracking link, and a sub-ID records the source or placement it came from. Together they let an advertiser and an affiliate match each registration and deposit to the traffic source that produced it.
Pilot campaign
A pilot is a capped test campaign, usually in one market, with success criteria agreed before it starts. Its results are reviewed source by source, and both sides then decide whether to continue and on what terms.
Casino and sportsbook
FTD (first-time deposit)
An FTD is a new player’s first deposit with an operator, and a first-time depositor is the player who made it. Most iGaming CPA deals pay on FTDs that meet extra conditions, rather than on registrations.
Qualified FTD (qualified player)
A qualified FTD is a first-time depositor who meets every condition in the contract, commonly a minimum deposit amount, a completed KYC check and sometimes a wagering requirement, within the validation window. Duplicate accounts, existing players and fraud are excluded.
GGR (gross gaming revenue)
Gross gaming revenue is the amount players stake minus the winnings paid back to them, before any other costs. It is the starting point for calculating net gaming revenue.
NGR (net gaming revenue)
Net gaming revenue is gross gaming revenue minus the deductions a contract allows. Bonus costs and gaming taxes are the usual ones, and payment fees and chargebacks are often deducted too. The list differs between operators, so the contract should spell it out before a revenue-share deal starts.
Negative carryover
Negative carryover means that when a month’s NGR from an affiliate’s players is negative, usually after a big win, the loss is carried into the following months until it is recovered. Deals without carryover reset the balance to zero each month, so the contract must say which applies.
Safer-gambling message
A safer-gambling message is the responsible-gambling notice a regulator requires in gambling advertising. Many regulators require one on every ad: Curaçao’s Gaming Authority, for example, requires a visible responsible-gambling message on all advertising and holds operators responsible for their affiliates’ materials.
Forex, CFD and investing brokers
Qualified trader
A qualified trader is a new client who meets the conditions in a broker’s affiliate contract, typically a passed KYC check, a cleared minimum first deposit and a minimum number of trades or lots within a set period. Duplicate accounts, related parties, wash trading and arbitrage are usually excluded.
Lot
A lot is a standard unit of trade size. In forex, one standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency. For CFDs the size differs by instrument, so affiliate and IB contracts must say how lots are counted on each one.
Net deposits
Net deposits are a client’s deposits minus their withdrawals over a period. Brokers sometimes use net deposits rather than the first deposit alone to decide whether a referred client qualifies.
Introducing broker (IB)
An introducing broker refers clients to a broker and is usually paid on their trading volume, for example per lot, sometimes with sub-IB tiers. In some markets introducing clients is itself regulated: in the United States, forex introducing brokers must register with the CFTC and join the NFA.
CFD risk warning
In the EU and the UK, CFD marketing must carry a standard risk warning that states the percentage of the provider’s retail accounts that lose money. ESMA’s rules require the percentage to be recalculated every quarter over the previous 12 months, so the wording in ads has to be updated when the figure changes.
Elective professional client
An elective professional client is a retail client who asks to be treated as professional and so loses retail protections such as negative-balance protection. Regulators scrutinise brokers and affiliates that steer clients towards opting up, so marketing should never encourage it.
Finfluencer
A finfluencer is a social-media creator who promotes financial products. Many regulators treat paid posts as financial promotions: the UK’s FCA sets out its expectations in guidance FG24/1, and the UAE introduced a licence for finfluencers in 2025.
These are general definitions. Every deal sets its own in writing, and our partnership standards list what we agree before a campaign starts.