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Mark your calendars for May 25–27, because MAC is returning to Yerevan. Once again, the Meridian Expo center will serve as the conference venue.
The organizers are going big this year: expect over 5,000 attendees, 200+ booths and lounges, and a lineup of more than 20 international speakers. The schedule is packed. We’re talking pre-parties, side events, two solid days of conference sessions, a massive afterparty, and the Padel by MAC & TrafficStars tournament.
But let’s be real — people aren't flying to Yerevan just for the itinerary. For the affiliate market, MAC has become the undisputed hub where media buying teams, advertisers, affiliate programs, edtech firms, fintech projects, and crypto entrepreneurs all collide. And we're talking about both powerhouse CIS teams and international brands looking for access to their volumes, unique approaches, and top-tier talent.
Over the past decade, the iGaming & Affiliate Conference MAC has cemented its reputation as one of the most prominent platforms in the iGaming and affiliate space. It’s not the kind of event where people browse an expo floor for a few hours and leave. The entire city of Yerevan turns into a networking hub for days. Deals are struck on the exhibition floor, in the VIP lounges, at exclusive side events, in hotel lobbies, and during closed-door meetings.
Vadim Korepov, the Co-founder of MAC, sums it up perfectly:
"I really see MAC as the vital bridge between East and West in the global affiliate ecosystem. It’s an open secret that Russian-speaking and CIS affiliates are absolute powerhouses, especially when it comes to black-hat niches. Western affiliate networks and product owners are incredibly eager to tap into that traffic. MAC is the ultimate meeting ground where these two worlds collide, shake hands, and forge highly lucrative partnerships."
This dynamic explains why the international crowd at MAC is always so huge. Half the attendees are there to tap into elite media buying teams and massive traffic flows. The other half are looking for the right brands, products, and partners to scale their operations immediately.
When a conference hits this scale, the speaker list is only half the equation. The real magic lies in the environment: how easy is it to actually meet the right people and turn a quick chat into a signed contract?
That’s exactly why MAC is spread across several days. May 25th is dedicated to pre-parties and side events to break the ice. May 26th is the main conference day, packed with content and networking. May 27th wraps up the expo and culminates in the legendary afterparty. The organizers deliberately design the venue with thematic lounges and networking zones because they know that’s where the real business happens. And yes, a VIP ticket gets you into that afterparty.
Here’s Vadim’s take on this:
"The ultimate goal of any conference is to help people meet and close deals. But honestly, just breaking the ice is usually the hardest part — at a lot of events, the atmosphere is just too stiff. At MAC, we engineer everything to make networking comfortable and natural. We have tons of networking events, an official pre-party, endless side events, and a huge number of lounges scattered across the venue.
As many of these lounges are thematic, it’s incredibly easy to find the exact partners you're looking for. But the crown jewel is our official afterparty — we’re talking nearly 4,000 people. It’s always easier to strike up a conversation in a relaxed, informal setting. That’s where you’re going to bump into a top-tier affiliate or a C-level exec. It’s a hundred times easier than trying to hunt them down on the busy expo floor. You don't have to schedule a meeting weeks in advance; you can just grab a drink with them in our Diamond Zone. That’s why we always tell people: if you want to meet the heavy hitters and close major deals, get the Diamond ticket."
For MAC, it’s their core value proposition. They aren't selling you a walk around a convention center. They are selling you a high-density, multi-day networking environment where crucial meetings happen faster and more organically than anywhere else.
Vadim also highlights another key point:
"Here’s another big factor: MAC consistently draws companies that simply don't bother going to other conferences in the CIS region. The same goes for the affiliates — we get top-tier Russian-speaking media buyers who rarely travel to overseas events. That’s why the deals made at MAC are often so incredibly profitable. It literally brings together people who would never cross paths anywhere else on earth."
In 2026, the MAC agenda is still going to be dominated by traffic, scaling strategies, the hottest new GEOs, and hardcore, tactical approaches to iGaming. It’s a conference built for the trenches: affiliate marketers, traffic arbitrage experts, performance marketers, and folks deep in Facebook ads, fintech, digital entrepreneurship and crypto.
When it comes to the tactical side of media buying, Vadim points to the usual heavyweights:
"Traffic sources and tactics change every year, but let's be honest, the holy trinity is still Facebook, Google, and ASO (App Store Optimization). Sure, there are always weird, obscure traffic sources that can deliver insane ROI, and CIS affiliates are brilliant at finding those hidden gems to make a quick fortune. But they are hard to scale. If you want massive volume, you’re still looking at the big three.
As for approaches, driving traffic through mobile apps is still king. It’s the dominant strategy right now. CIS affiliates don't just run ads; they build massive infrastructure around their media buying. They farm their own Apple and Google store accounts, manage complex networks of ad accounts, and build the custom tools required to survive and scale on these major platforms."
He also notes a strategy that many are still sleeping on:
"I think the smart move right now isn't necessarily hunting for a brand-new traffic source, but finding new GEOs where your current source can be applied. For instance, Facebook might suddenly yield incredible results in a newly emerging market. I’d also strongly suggest looking into native ad networks in specific GEOs — because those audiences aren't 'banner blind' yet, native ads can still pull in fantastic results.
And we definitely can’t ignore influencer traffic. It has historically performed incredibly well, and when you take that strategy into fresh GEOs where the audience isn't used to it, the ROI can be massive."
This is exactly why people fly to MAC. They don't want a beginner’s guide to Facebook ads; they want actionable, in-the-trenches intel on infrastructure, workarounds, and the newest windows of opportunity.
The hunt for the next big GEO is a constant theme at MAC, and 2026 will be no different. The market is hungry for growing, unsaturated regions.
"New GEOs are constantly popping up on the radar. They burn bright and then cool off," Vadim says. "Right now, Africa is incredibly interesting. I’m constantly hearing chatter from media buying teams about pouring traffic into various African countries.
Obviously, a lot of products are still making a killing in India — that’s no secret. But there are absolutely new, hyper-profitable GEOs exploding right now. If you want to know what they are, you need to be at MAC. I know for a fact that several speakers on the main stage will be pulling back the curtain on these exact emerging markets."
Expect the conference program to dive deep into exactly where the top teams and products are placing their bets today.
One of MAC’s biggest draws is the sheer density of top-tier Russian-speaking and CIS media buying teams. They’ve been dominating the performance marketing space for years. For international brands, coming to Yerevan is a masterclass in seeing how these teams build bulletproof infrastructure, scale their ad spend, and effortlessly bypass source restrictions.
Here’s Vadim’s take on their dominance:
"I think I partially answered this earlier. CIS affiliate teams use an incredibly sophisticated, comprehensive approach. We aren't talking about a couple of guys working out of a garage anymore. These are massive organizations with dedicated departments focused entirely on prep work before a single ad goes live. In some of these teams, for every one media buyer actually launching campaigns, there are four or five support staff handling the creatives, the payment gateways, the account farming — all the heavy lifting. Secondly, CIS affiliates are traditionally technical powerhouses. They know exactly how to bypass the roadblocks thrown up by traffic sources, regulators, and the market itself. It requires deep technical know-how, and these guys have it in spades."
And here is what he believes international companies can learn from them:
"The biggest takeaway is learning their foundational, global approach to driving traffic and their tactics for bypassing restrictions. CIS teams are the best in the world at this, and they are surprisingly willing to share their expertise.
The newest, most innovative approaches almost always originate in the CIS. I’m pretty sure Russian-speaking affiliates were the first to really crack driving traffic via mobile apps at scale. But don't just take my word for it — listen to them on the main stage at MAC. We rigorously vet our speakers to ensure they are active, practicing affiliates ready to share their actual blueprints and secrets.
I highly recommend catching Artur Dja’s session. He’ll be diving into Facebook traffic, and he’s known for dropping incredible gems on how to bypass FB’s restrictions. He’s an absolute master at it."
This focus is reflected in the MAC’26 speaker lineup. Confirmed heavy hitters include Stefan Muehlbauer, Andrey Ermolaev, Oleg Shestakov, Artur Dja, Anton Khomenok, and Philip Levin, who is running a highly anticipated masterclass on Telegram Ads.
The industry is rightly skeptical about the ROI of conferences these days. You collect a hundred business cards, but how many turn into actual revenue? MAC’s strategy to combat this is simple: concentrate the people who actually hold the purse strings and control the traffic volume.
Vadim explains the math:
"The true value of MAC is the caliber of the attendees. Historically, MAC was the favorite event of the old-school affiliates who came to us back in 2017-2018 as solo buyers or small team owners. Fast forward to today, and those same guys are running massive holdings and syndicates of media buying teams.
These are the ultimate decision-makers. At MAC, you can easily walk up to them offline and shake hands on a deal. And when you close a deal with these guys, you aren't boosting your traffic by 10% — you’re multiplying it by 50x. That is the unmatched value of MAC.
And again, because MAC bridges the East and the West, these top-level decision-makers simply don't cross paths at any other event. They just don't go to them."
This is the core thesis of MAC’26. The massive expo isn't just a backdrop; it’s a purpose-built environment designed to put teams, brands, affiliate programs, and key decision-makers in the same room for three highly productive days.
Massive volume and revenue growth are great, but the cracks in a team’s foundation usually show up a bit later. That’s why a major part of the conversation around iGaming and affiliate marketing in 2026 isn't just about getting traffic, but about managing the scale.
Vadim highlights a classic pitfall:
"For media buying teams, the biggest danger right now is letting your infrastructure budget bloat. Affiliate marketing will always have its ups and downs. When your volume inevitably drops — when your FTDs and traffic take a hit — your profit plummets. But if your infrastructure costs are still sky-high, you’re in trouble. Teams often forget to optimize their backend costs when the traffic is flowing perfectly.
When the stats look amazing, no one looks at the server bills. But when the market turns, that bloated infrastructure becomes an anchor that can sink a team. It’s a critical issue that people need to be talking about."
These are the kinds of discussions that elevate a conference from good to essential. It’s not just about the newest funnel; it’s about how to keep your team, your overhead, and your sanity intact when your business is scaling at breakneck speed.
MAC’26 is happening May 25–27 at the Meridian Expo in Yerevan. The organizers are already seeing a massive international turnout, alongside the strongest CIS teams, top brands, networks, and services in the iGaming and affiliate space. If you want to spend three days locked in with the best traffic sources, discovering new GEOs, and shaking hands on deals that will make your year, all roads lead to Yerevan this May.
