Operating across over 200 markets, Gentoo Media is among the biggest players in the igaming affiliate space. In the fourth part of this iGBA Barcelona 2025 speaker interview series, we speak to Jonas Warrer, CEO at Gentoo Media, about the company’s split, the decision process behind acquisitions and its key growth areas.
“A lot of talking, a lot of numbers, a lot of problem solving with skilled people and a lot of interactions” is Jonas Warrer’s description of a typical day in his life. The 46-year-old entrepreneur is a textbook workaholic who regularly carries his work home. But he has absolutely no complaints about this hectic lifestyle, which includes speaking at iGB Affiliate Barcelona on navigating the future of the affiliate sector.
“I really enjoy my work,” he says. “I have stayed in the igaming space since founding my company 17 years ago, and I have been very happy and positive about being in this exciting industry.”
Given Gentoo Media’s recent performance, it’s no wonder why Warrer is in such good spirits. The affiliate giant has delivered 15 consecutive quarters of growth, with revenue up 35% from Q3 2023 to Q4 2024. Its portfolio comprises a growing collection of websites and SaaS solutions, including igaming household names such as AskGamblers, which was acquired in 2023 at €45m (£37.9m/$45.9m) alongside a number of smaller domains from Catena Media.
The past two years have been remarkable for Warrer’s career as well. Since iGBA’s last profile interview with him in 2023, the former chief marketing officer has been promoted to Gentoo Media’s CEO following Richard Brown’s departure.
“Personally, I’m very excited about all the opportunities in igaming. But of course, there are always areas to be improved, which will be our focused area going forward,” says Warrer.
This way, investors can choose where to put their money, instead of being forced to invest in both businesses, which have such different characteristics, risks, and rewards
Gentoo going solo
One of the most significant developments for the affiliate business has been its division into two listed companies. In September 2024, the former Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) split its platform business, GiG Software PLC, from the media branch now led by Warrer. The company has also been rebranded as Gentoo – an Antarctic penguin species renowned for thriving through collective effort – also paying homage to Warrer’s former venture Rebel Penguin.
The restructuring decision, Warrer explains, came from the board’s conclusion that “investors are either interested in funding the platform and sportsbook business or a media company”. The differing maturity phases of the two branches also mean the former holds tremendous growth potential but demands significant investment.
“In the end, the board decided it would just unlock shareholder value if we split up the two businesses. This way, investors can choose where to put their money, instead of being forced to invest in both businesses, which have such different characteristics, risks, and rewards.”
The diversity strategy ensures that even if some sites are affected, they only have a small impact on the overall business
Recently, Google updates have been a headache for many affiliates. However, Warrer believes the impact on Gentoo has been “slightly positive” over the last few years, thanks to its diverse portfolio of more than 150 global sites. Although brands including the flagship site CasinoTopsOnline have lost rankings, other sites such as AskGamblers have benefited from the updates.
“The diversity strategy ensures that even if some sites are affected, they only have a small impact on the overall business, so it will be the approach we are going to take moving forward,” he says. “But I think the best way to sum it up is to stay relevant to users, continue optimising all the basics like core web vitals on a very detailed level and follow Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines.”
While influencers and streamers are growing popular in the affiliate space, offering a fresh alternative to the competitive SEO-driven game, Warrer says Gentoo’s focus will remain on its publishing business and marketing services.
“Working with influencers is an interesting area we’ve been looking at. It’s exciting for new businesses and start-ups. But with the opportunities we have at hand with our websites and all the marketing and media technologies we have built up, our plans are well defined at least for the next year, so I would say not right now,” he says.
M&A hunting
When navigating market uncertainties, listed affiliates often enjoy the advantage of having a wealth of resources and relying on M&A for revenue growth. While Gentoo has taken strides in acquisitions, buying brands including KaFe Rocks, Casinomeister and the content service provider Titan, Warrer notes both organic growth and acquisitions contribute equally to the business’s overall growth.
We are more of an organisation with a flat hierarchy. We really value collaboration, so everybody in Gentoo Media needs to understand that no one is an island
“We had a period from 2019 to 2023 when we saw strong yearly organic growth around 20 to 21%. Then by 2023, we also started doing acquisitions and that probably added the same in growth,” he says. “Going forward, we will continue improving what we have now and acquiring relevant websites or assets that we think can better off the business.”
Deciding on acquisition, as Warrer explains, is a meticulous process that involves assessing factors such as strategic fit, the business case, and deal structure. However, the most critical and challenging aspect is determining whether the potential acquisition is a good “cultural fit”.
“For instance, this can be how you communicate, whether you are office-based or remote-based and what your hierarchy looks like,” he explains. “We are more of an organisation with a flat hierarchy. We really value collaboration, so everybody in Gentoo Media needs to understand that no one is an island, and we only achieve great things if we do it together.”
“In our experience, the cultural fit part has a very big impact on how fast it is to onboard the new business. I wouldn’t do an acquisition if I could sense that there was a really bad cultural fit, because then it would take too much time and it would be too disruptive for both us and the acquired company.”
Additionally, timing also plays a role in acquisitions. Warrer believes “there’s a limit to how intense or how frequent you can be in acquisitions” and says Gentoo’s current appetite is limited to “one or two a year” to ensure each acquired company is successfully integrated into the business.
“If we do more than that in terms of bigger acquisitions, I fear that we risk losing our understanding of the current business and the ability to keep optimising what we have now,” explains Warrer.
In 2025, Gentoo’s geographical interest will remain in Europe and the Americas, where Warrer sees the strongest growth opportunities.
“Of course, we are dipping our toes into other markets, too. For instance, we will probably do a bit of market testing in a few countries in Africa. But I think those two broad regions are going to be the name of the game for us,” he says.
“I’m very optimistic about the future. Despite that we are considered a big player, looking at the market size and how big we are in each country, I’d say we are still small and there’re still lots of growth opportunities there.”
Jonas Warrer will be speaking at “Keynote: Navigating the Road Ahead” on 21 January 2025 at iGBA Barcelona 2025.