In the final part of our Meet the Judge interview series, Sarafina Wolde Gabriel reflects on her two decades in igaming, her role shaping the iGB Affiliate Awards since 2008 and the most common pitfalls she’s encountered in past submissions.
Rightlander CEO Sarafina Wolde Gabriel has been a member of the iGB Affiliate judging panel since the first ever awards in 2008. With an igaming career spanning two decades, she entered the industry in 2004 as an affiliate manager at Income Access, later progressing to its VP strategy.
“Back then, Income Access had both gaming and e-commerce affiliate programmes. That was my introduction to igaming affiliate marketing,” she recalls.
“This sector is such a niche space and has always been my passion. In the beginning, hardly anyone even knew what affiliate marketing was. Today, it’s a well-established marketing channel for brands.”
igaming affiliate marketing is such a niche space and has always been my passion
More compliance
After a 17-year stint at the Paysafe-owned company, Wolde Gabriel joined fraud prevention and cybersecurity firm GeoComply as senior director, where she focused on identifying international expansion opportunities. A year later, she was invited by Rightlander founder and former affiliate Ian Sims to join his marketing compliance company, where she now oversees affiliate content across multiple platforms in 28 countries and language regions.
Rightlander currently supports over 300 brands, including industry household names such as Bet365 and Kindred. It won Best Tech for Affiliate Programmes at the iGB Affiliate Awards 2023 and was shortlisted again last year.
Affiliates should only promote the entertainment aspect, because ultimately, gambling is entertainment when done right
"Our core business is marketing compliance," she says. "So it’s monitoring content, whether it’s on the web, on social media, Telegram, instant messaging or PPC search, and just making sure that it’s compliant with regulation worldwide."
Wolde Gabriel views the growing focus on regulation within the igaming affiliate sector as essential and calls for more attention to consumer protection.
“There's been a lot of inaccurate or misleading advertising. You can’t tell somebody, ‘Hey, go and play and you’ll change your life forever.’ That’s completely inappropriate. Affiliates should only promote the entertainment aspect, because ultimately, gambling is entertainment when done right,” she explains.
Igaming Oscars
Looking back at the early days of the iGB Affiliate Awards, Wolde Gabriel says she’s proud to have been involved from the start.
“In the beginning, the awards were part of the London Affiliate Conference (LAC). It was one of the most anticipated events. There was a gala dinner and entertainment, and everyone would dress up,” she recalls. “Now it’s grown massively – I’ve lost count on the dinner tables.”
Now the iGB Affiliate Awards have grown massively – I’ve lost count on the dinner tables
Despite changes to the format and a shift in the event calendar – this year’s ceremony takes place during iGB L!VE in July rather than during iGB Affiliate – Wolde Gabriel believes the awards remain crucial and describes them as the “Oscars for igaming affiliate marketing”.
However, one change she would like to see in future awards is a two-tier judging system to better manage the growing number of entries. In recent years, some categories have had up to 15 shortlisted companies, making the review process increasingly demanding. Wolde Gabriel’s also worried that “too many companies on the shortlist might harm the credibility of the awards”.
“I think there could be an initial round to narrow things down, then a deeper judging round for the final list – but of course, I’m open to suggestions,” she says.
If I have to go digging for your success, then you’re not selling yourself properly
Submission dos and don’ts
Wolde Gabriel encourages entrants to treat their submissions like a pitch in the British entrepreneurship reality show Dragon’s Den - clear, confident and backed by evidence.
“Sometimes people have fantastic ideas or achievements, but they fall down on the pitch. If I have to go digging for your success, then you’re not selling yourself properly,” she notes.
Like fellow judge Katy Stafford, Wolde Gabriel highlights the importance of relationships in affiliate marketing. She says she always appreciates when affiliates explain the value of their partnerships – not just listing brands, but showing why those relationships matter. Concise testimonials and case studies can help to demonstrate this, alongside factual data to back up performance claims.
A common pitfall she’s seen over the years is failing to follow the guidelines or including results from the wrong time frame. The 2025 iGB Affiliate Awards, for instance, will only assess performance from 1 January to 31 December 2024, but not anything outside the range.
My main advice is, follow the category guidelines, then you will have a high chance of submitting a quality entry
“I’ve seen entries where affiliates listed what they achieved five years ago – which is great but not what we’re going to judge you for,” Wolde Gabriel says. “So my main advice is, follow the category guidelines, then you will have a high chance of submitting a quality entry.”
Ultimately, Wolde Gabriel believes a strong submission gives everyone a fair shot and encourages all companies to take part, no matter their size.
“I love seeing how successful the nominees are and the innovation behind that success. It’s fascinating to see everything laid out in detail. If you're ambitious and want to be recognised, this is the one you go for.”
For more information on the judging process and submission advice, please visit the official awards page, and don’t forget to check out tips from Simon Pilkington, Katty Stafford and internal judging lead Stephen Carter on creating a standout entry.