Gambling is one of the toughest verticals in affiliate marketing, with fierce competition and strict regulations. To win, affiliates need a complex approach that covers more of the audience and protects traffic volume.
This guide from the RichAds ad network team breaks down the best Gambling ad format combinations for 2026, so you get better traffic quality and higher profit from every campaign.
What is multi-format advertising?
Multi-format advertising means running more than one ad format simultaneously.
Different formats reach people in different moments and different contexts, and these audiences barely overlap:
- Users scrolling through a betting forum see a push notification.
- Fans watching a football highlight video see a pre-roll ad.
- People browsing a casino review page get a pop ad.
So when you combine ad formats correctly, you’re adding new traffic on top of what you already have. That’s the main benefit of ad format combinations: more total reach, without one format stealing budget or clicks from another.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
Why do affiliates combine advertising formats for Gambling?
In Gambling, multi-format advertising matters more than in almost any other vertical because channels there can get banned at any moment.
Gambling is one of the most restricted verticals in advertising. Traditional ad platforms like Google and Meta ban most Gambling campaigns right away, so affiliates turn to alternative ad networks and run multiple ad formats to prevent traffic losses.
One restriction doesn’t harm your funnel if you spread the budget across casino and betting ad formats. You cover more ground, protect traffic, and squeeze more profit out of every offer.
Top Gambling ad formats in 2026
Four sources consistently drive results for online Gambling advertisements in 2026:
- pre-roll ads
- direct click ads
- pop ads
- push ads.
They complement each other well, but before combining anything, you need to understand what each format actually does.
1. Pre-roll video ads
Pre-roll ads play before the video content a user is about to watch. It’s the fastest-growing Gambling ad format right now. However, competition for placements is still relatively low, which makes it a good time to get in, especially if you’ve run video ads before.
Pre-roll’s biggest strength is that it can actually explain an offer. A 15-30 second video can walk through a casino interface, show bonuses, their terms, and convince users to register. A static banner or a short push notification can’t do that.
2. Pop ads (popunder)
Popunder ads open in a new window or tab, behind the page the user is already on. They run on popular sites and are hard to miss, delivering large volumes of relatively cheap traffic. That’s why popunders have become one of the most widely used casino ad formats.
Pop traffic is best for reaching a wide audience, creating brand awareness, and engaging first-time players.
3. Direct click ads
Direct click ads send the user straight to the advertiser’s landing page when they search for something online. Setup is nearly identical to pop ads, so if you’re already running popunders, adding direct click takes almost no extra work.
Direct click traffic is a strong choice when you already have a proven offer and geo combination and want to raise traffic quality and increase volume.
4. Push ads
Push ads are short, notification-style messages that appear on a user’s phone or desktop, resembling a system alert or app message. The people receiving them have opted in somewhere before, so this is a genuinely active audience.
Push is nearly universal among Gambling advertising formats. It works with almost any geo and offer; push traffic is cheap to test, and it’s hard for users to ignore ads because they land directly on the screen and mostly bypass ad blockers.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
How to combine ad formats to maximize profit
Now that you know all the top Gambling ad formats, let’s move to the most interesting part – ad format combinations.
At the RichAds ad network, we have extensive experience in Gambling advertising, as affiliates run hundreds of campaigns on the platform daily. By gathering and studying this internal data, we’ve determined the best approach:
Start with push ads
If you have zero history on offer or geo, start with push traffic. It’s the fastest and cheapest way to get real statistics. You can diagnose whether an offer works within days, then use creative rotation and CTR tweaks to squeeze more performance out of it.
As we already mentioned, push notifications are a universal casino and betting ad format. Most advertisers provide ready-made creatives, and you can ask your RichAds manager for custom designs, so the campaign launch is simple.
Push + pop: broaden reach
Pop is an easy second format to add right after push. Push ads prove the offer works and give you the first signal on CTR and CPA; pop then adds cheap, high-volume reach on top of that baseline.
The ad format combination works well early in a campaign’s life, before you’ve built up enough data to justify other traffic sources. Push ads find the angle, popunders scale the volume behind it, and you decide from there whether to add direct click, pre-roll, or anything else.
Push + direct click: add volume and quality
Once your push and pop campaigns are stable and you know your CPA, direct click is the natural next test.
It helps improve traffic quality and attract more volume. Because you don’t need any creatives and users go straight to the offer’s landing, the launch is quick and low-effort.
Plus, the setup is almost identical to pop campaigns, so it’s an ideal addition for anyone already comfortable with popunders.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
Push + pre-roll: scale a proven funnel
Again, push gives you a fast, cheap way to test an offer, then you need another format to scale. Pre-roll can be a good choice.
Once you understand your push funnel is converting, pre-roll video adds a more engaged, higher-intent audience. Like popunders, pre-roll ads deliver high traffic volumes at relatively low CPMs.
This combination is best used once you’re ready to move from testing into scaling.
Popunder + pre-roll: the flagship ad format combination
Pre-roll is a great addition to the pop traffic volume you already have, reaching a new slice of the audience and explaining the offer better than pops alone can.
This combination works well because formats don’t compete for the same click. Pre-roll and popunder ads reach users in different contexts, so you combine traffic from both:
- Pre-roll sells the offer. The video has time to explain the bonus and its conditions.
- Pops deliver volume. Popunders work on any sites, reaching an audience where video can’t.
It’s the most effective and popular combination of advertising formats for Gambling used by experienced affiliates and media buyers.
Full stack: push + pop + direct click + pre-roll
Running all four formats together is how you capture the most total volume:
- Push ads reach the opted-in audience.
- Popunder ads bring cheap, high-volume reach.
- Direct click ads add quality clicks.
- Pre-roll brings in engaged video viewers.
Each Gambling ad format pulls in its own segment of available traffic and expands your total reach on the same offer, without cannibalizing one another.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
Practical checklist for successful ad format combinations
Surely you know how much optimization means in Gambling affiliate marketing. To succeed even with one ad-format campaign, you need a clean setup and daily monitoring.
When you step into multi-format advertising, those requirements start to matter even more. And as your funnel is growing, it becomes easier to miss something valuable.
To help you avoid costly mistakes, we’ve created a short checklist to run through before you add any new format to your campaign:
- Set up postback tracking.
You need transparent data to know what’s converting and what’s not. - Localize landing pages and creatives per geo.
Use local language, mention local payment methods, and add cultural references — it has an outsized effect on conversion. - Run several creative variants per format.
A/B tests help find winning combinations and are important for all four formats. - Watch each format’s metrics separately.
Don’t judge a combination by blended ROI. You should check the numbers for each format and optimize the campaigns accordingly. - Use automation tools.
Features like Performance Mode, Optimizer, CPA Goal, and Automation Rules help simplify optimization. You don’t have to waste time on manual adjustments and can focus on analytics and decision-making. - Scale gradually.
Add one format at a time on top of a stable base. Don’t skip straight to a full mix without clear prior data.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a single best advertising format for Gambling, there’s no such thing. The winning approach is to combine ad formats based on the real data you have after initial tests.
Start with push to get your first results, layer in the second format to scale, and move to the full push, pop, direct click, and pre-roll mix once the offer is proven.
You can test different ad format combinations at RichAds. This ad network provides 5+ billion daily traffic from push, pop, direct click, pre-roll, Telegram, and native ads in over 220 geos. With advanced optimization tools and personal manager support, you’ll easily move from first test to full-stack scaling and grow your profit.
What is RichAds?
Ad network for telegram ads,
high quality push and popunder ads,
domain redirect, native and display traffic source,
buy push ads at $0.005 (CPC), pop ads at $0.5 (CPM),
domain ads costs start from $1.5 (CPM), native ads — from $0.001 (CPC),
ad network offers large volumes of traffic in more than 200 geos from Tier 3 to Tier 1.
FAQ on ad format combinations
No single casino ad format reaches your whole audience. Push, pop, direct click, and pre-roll each reach users in different contexts, so combining them gives affiliates maximum traffic volume.
RichAds ad network experts also note that combining ad formats helps spread risk: if one format gets banned, the rest of the campaign keeps running.
There are several options depending on your campaign goals:
- Push + pop for quick traffic acquisition and cheap reach;
- Push + direct click for high-quality audience;
- Pre-roll + popunder for maximum engagement and volume;
- Push + pre-roll for scaling.
Once the offer is proven, affiliates can use all these Gambling formats together: push, pop, direct click, and pre-roll video.
Push offers fast reach and cheap traffic, so it’s usually the first format tested to see whether an offer converts. Native ads then add a less intrusive, content-blended placement that builds trust with users further along the funnel, since they sit inside articles and feeds people read.
Yes, RichAds ad network experts highlight that using ad format combinations can increase affiliate profits.
It provides high traffic volume without increasing the cost per result, since formats reach different traffic segments rather than competing for the same clicks. More traffic translates into more conversions, and with the right budget optimization, affiliates get the highest ROI.
The choice depends on the campaign goals and the data you already have. Most Gambling affiliates start with push, and then add other formats like direct click or pre-roll to raise quality or reach a more engaged audience.
If you have a working popunder campaign, the best choice is to combine it with pre-roll ads, as they bring a highly engaged audience and improve CR.
Ultimately, you should first understand how each ad format works, then choose the mix that matches your needs.
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