NetRefer Review
6.9/10A founder-owned Malta company that has run program infrastructure since 2005, now hosted on Azure with its data layer on Databricks and CoPilot AI over the top. Flutter, FDJ United, Casumo, SuprNation, and Interwetten all run affiliate programs on it.
Our read
- A deep commission engine: four revenue share types, four CPA types, hybrid plans with reward-the-higher logic, CPL, sub-affiliate plans, and Guaranteed Reward Plans, customizable at the affiliate, brand, and campaign level.
- The platform runs on Microsoft Azure and Databricks.
- A long-running client roster: Flutter's Betfair and Paddy Power programs run here, FDJ United renewed in September 2025, Casumo in May 2026 after 14 years on the platform, SuprNation in June 2026, and Interwetten, a client since March 2009, in June 2025.
- A fixed subscription with no revenue-share fees and no usage-based metering, 24/7 support with an emergency contact telephone line, and a four to six week implementation window.
- The platform moves of the last three years all went out: Betsson, historically the flagship account, completed its migration to MyAffiliates in June 2023, MozzartBet left for MyAffiliates in August 2024, and 7StarsPartners is mid-migration to ReferOn.
- The fraud layer stops at bot detection in the tracking, with no pre-payout quarantine and no affiliate KYC tooling at all, so compliance-heavy programs will build those controls around the platform.
European regulated multi-brand operators that want enterprise program infrastructure, a Microsoft-native data stack their BI team already knows, and reference programs the size of Flutter's and FDJ United's.
US-facing or LatAm-first operators, since the platform runs no US-regulated program, and teams that need pricing up front or a sandbox to evaluate.
Markets & licensing
The market lean is European regulated multi-market operators. Flutter's Betfair and Paddy Power programs carry the UK and Irish books, and FDJ United's program runs across Europe and Australia. There is no US-regulated program on the platform and no Latin America push.
The platform runs no US-regulated affiliate program and makes no US market push. Its footprint is European regulated operators plus Australia inside the FDJ United program's licensed coverage. A US-facing operator shortlisting affiliate infrastructure will find the reference base and the compliance conversation built around European regulators rather than state-by-state US requirements.
The UK is the strongest market on the platform. Betfair Affiliates runs on NetRefer for both the platform and system maintenance, Paddy Power's program runs on the same infrastructure with a relationship dating to 2007, and the FDJ United program covers the UK among its nine licensed countries. For a UKGC-licensed operator that makes the reference calls straightforward.
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Licensing tier: Affiliate platform software is not a licensable activity, so diligence here runs commercial rather than regulatory.
NetRefer sells program infrastructure and the operators running the programs hold the gambling licenses.
Platform & capabilities
Everything the product does out of the box. If a feature isn't listed, the vendor either doesn't offer it or doesn't say.
Integrations & engineering
One contract and one API instead of a separate deal per studio, feed, or PSP. Here's what connects, how fast, and on what stack.
NetRefer sells direct enterprise engagements rather than marketplace connectors. Operators feed the platform through a Data Ingestion API with real-time corrections, read it through GraphQL APIs, and expose affiliate-side data through ASR 1.0, the platform's Affiliate Standard Reporting API. The stack is Microsoft-native, hosted on Azure since the full Lift & Shift migration completed in 2022, and Single Sign On runs platform-wide.
Most implementations complete within four to six weeks depending on setup complexity and internal readiness. Migrations run through a structured onboarding process covering secure data transfer, validation, and go-live.
Products & tools
An enterprise affiliate platform built on Microsoft Azure: a reward engine spanning revenue share, CPA, hybrid, CPL and sub-affiliate plans, Enhanced Tracking, BI Analytics with a Report Builder, GraphQL and Data Ingestion APIs plus the ASR 1.0 affiliate-side reporting API, and CoPilot AI, an in-platform natural-language assistant over performance data.
Reward Plan Manager
The commission engine: straight, flat, progressive, and tiered revenue share, flat, straight, tiered, and multi-level CPA, hybrid plans with reward-the-higher logic, CPL, sub-affiliate reward plans, dynamic bonus criteria, and Guaranteed Reward Plans, all customizable at the affiliate, brand, and campaign level.
- Four revenue share types: straight, flat, progressive, and tiered
- Four CPA types: flat, straight, tiered, and multi-level
- Hybrid plans combining CPA and revenue share with reward-the-higher logic
- CPL, sub-affiliate reward plans, dynamic bonus criteria, and Guaranteed Reward Plans
- Deal customization at the affiliate, brand, and campaign level
- Commission automation with end-of-month payment processing and affiliate status management
BI Analytics
A BI Analytics layer with a Report Builder, custom dashboards, KPI monitoring, smart alerts, and collaborative insight sharing, running on a Data Management Platform built on Databricks, topped by NetRefer CoPilot AI, an in-platform natural-language assistant over performance data that is also trained on the client knowledge base and available around the clock.
- BI Analytics and Report Builder with custom dashboards, KPI monitoring, and smart alerts
- Cloud hosting on Microsoft Azure, with the full Lift & Shift migration completed in 2022
- CoPilot AI, an AI assistant for iGaming affiliate marketing
- CoPilot unveiled at iGB Affiliate London with a select-partner preview before full release
- Operating telemetry for June 2026: 1.5 billion requests ingested, 5.3 TB processed, 99.97% uptime, 99.70% SLA achievement
Enhanced Tracking
Enhanced Tracking with bot detection and user-agent detail capture over complete player journeys, fed and read through a Data Ingestion API with real-time corrections, operator-facing GraphQL APIs, and ASR 1.0, an Affiliate Standard Reporting API for the affiliate side, with Single Sign On shipped platform-wide.
- Complete player journeys tracked for campaign optimization
- Data Ingestion API with standardized real-time corrections
- Operator-facing GraphQL APIs
- ASR 1.0, the Affiliate Standard Reporting API for the affiliate side (launched alongside the Azure milestones)
- Single Sign On rolled out platform-wide
The history
Longevity in this industry usually comes with a change of owner somewhere in it.
Raphael Arnold founded the company in Malta in 2005 as Arnold Media Limited, trading as NetRefer, and it remains founder-owned with no external funding and no private equity behind it. It is the second-oldest platform in the category. Paddy Power came onto the platform in 2007, Interwetten in March 2009, the combined Paddy Power Betfair program in 2016, and Kindred Group in 2017, a relationship that survived FDJ's October 2024 acquisition of Kindred and expanded into FDJ's lottery brands with the renewal signed September 22, 2025. The full Azure Lift & Shift completed in 2022, ASR 1.0 shipped alongside it, and CoPilot AI sits on top of the data layer. Betsson completed its migration to MyAffiliates in June 2023 and MozzartBet followed in August 2024.
Brands & clients on the platform
Corporate
Leadership
Milestones
- 2005
Raphael Arnold founds Arnold Media Limited in Malta, trading as NetRefer, building affiliate program infrastructure for European operators.
- 2007
Paddy Power comes onto the platform, the start of the relationship that later carries the combined Paddy Power Betfair program.
- 2009
Interwetten partners in March, still live after the June 17, 2025 renewal.
- 2016
NetRefer powers the combined Paddy Power Betfair affiliate program after the operator merger.
- 2017
Kindred Group selects NetRefer, the relationship that becomes the FDJ United account.
- 2022
The full Lift & Shift migration to Microsoft Azure completes, with ASR 1.0, the Affiliate Standard Reporting API, launched alongside it.
- 2023
Betsson, historically the flagship account, completes its migration to MyAffiliates in June.
- 2024
MozzartBet leaves for MyAffiliates on August 1, and FDJ acquires Kindred in October, putting the platform's biggest account under new ownership.
- 2025
FDJ United renews on September 22 across 10 brands and 12 products in 9 countries, with FDJ's Loto and Euromillions alongside Unibet and 32Red, and Interwetten renews on June 17.
- 2026
Casumo renews on May 25 in a 14-year partnership, SuprNation renews on June 16, and CoPilot AI reaches clients after its iGB Affiliate London unveiling and select-partner preview.
Where they're pushing next
- FDJ's lottery brands, with Loto and Euromillions inside the September 22, 2025 renewal scope
- AI-assisted analytics, with CoPilot AI as the productized output of the data layer
- European regulated multi-market operators, where the footprint's center of gravity sits
Longevity and ownership
Switching vendors is expensive, which makes the company's staying power part of the purchase. What the contract says about your data decides how expensive an exit gets.
NetRefer vs alternatives
Most buyers in this market shortlist three or four vendors long before they take a single sales call.
| Attribute | NetRefer | Income Access | MyAffiliates | Cellxpert |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 | 2002 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Team | 61+ | 100+ | — | 29+ |
| US market | Available | Available | — | — |
| Pricing | On request | On request | On request | On request |
| Commission models | Straight | CPA | Flat | CPA |
| Sold bundled | None | Software | None | Standalone |
Pricing & terms
NetRefer quotes pricing per project. Here's how the model and the terms are structured.
Fixed subscription with no revenue-share component and no usage metering, and all figures on request
Turnkey
The fixed subscription means program growth does not raise the platform bill.
Path to launch
- 1Start with sales and a demo
- 2Contract with Arnold Media Limited, the Malta company behind the NetRefer brand, on a fixed subscription with no revenue share and no usage metering
- 3Wire the platform in through the Data Ingestion API and GraphQL APIs, with ASR 1.0 available for affiliates who pull reporting into their own systems
- 4Run the structured migration process if you are moving an existing program, covering secure data transfer, validation, and go-live, inside the four to six week implementation window
- 5Go live with Single Sign On, BI Analytics dashboards, and CoPilot AI, backed by 24/7 support with an emergency contact telephone line
Support & account management
You can't demo service before you sign, so what a vendor puts in writing is the only floor you can hold it to.