Gambling has always been a popular pursuit, from the introduction of money as a method of measuring wealth, greed and the sense of thrill has driven millions of people to risk ruin. Today gambling has become a way of life for millions of people worldwide. A large contributing factor in the modern explosion of gambling can be attributed to the introduction of the interactive realm of the Internet. The new online generation was able to access gambling sites and games for the first time ever at any time and from almost any place. Every aspect of the gaming industry has grown many folds since the inception of online gambling. Casinos have become commonplace and are in themselves a hugely lucrative industry. The world of poker playing has been given a major face-lift, with online games rejuvenating and popularising the game to a whole new audience. But one of the largest success stories of the Internet gaming boom has come in the form of sports betting.

Betting on popular sports such as soccer, football, baseball, hockey and horse racing have always been popular with people in countries where the sports are most popular. But with the introduction of the Internet sports betting people from all corners of the world were finally given the ability to bet on almost every major sporting event, no matter how seemingly obscure the location or sport. Everything that can be assigned odds can be gambled on, therefore the popularity and diversity of the gamblers has become so widespread that inevitably there was an explosion.

Like all large businesses small outlets of possibility have emerged from the online sports betting boom. The range of opportunity and relative value is staggering especially by traditional standards. One of the most creative subsidiary industries to have been born out of the Internet boom, is that of affiliate marketing. It is a simple advertising plan that allows the distribution of wealth to be spread from the large sports betting companies all the way down to standard Internet users. It is also an industry that maintains competition within the sector and helps companies grow into larger businesses. It works as a sort of reward scheme for websites that host the sports betting sites advertisements. When a player joins via an affiliate site, identified by a unique URL, the affiliate then shares a percentage of said players lifetime money generated for the site. Therefore with the affiliate amply rewarded for their part in generating new customs, it becomes their duty to continue bringing in more and more new customers. It is through this success and reward strategy that the affiliate program has become such a successfully and profitable marketing strategy for so many industries, including that of online sports betting.