Morocco: An Overlooked Opportunity for iGaming Affiliates

The past year has been one of the most interesting and intense of my career. The industry is going through a fascinating period of transformation and global restructuring. And against this backdrop, I see many people overlooking interesting and promising regions and countries.

A striking example of such a market, and one MelBet Partners & Affiliates is currently working with, is Morocco. Our experience shows that results depend less on traffic volume and more on its quality, the level of localisation and trust in the brand.

This GEO requires patience, deep analytics and a clear understanding of exactly which audience you are working with. Perhaps the first and most important piece of advice I would give partners is this: don’t copy strategies that have worked well in other countries. Why? Let me explain.

First of all, Morocco is interesting because of its combination of cultural specifics and a well-developed digital environment.

• The country has 38+ million inhabitants and 35.5 million internet users (95% of the population).
• The average salary of a mid-level specialist is $1,000–1,500 (MAD 10,000–15,000).
• In large cities, mobile content, social networks and messengers are already part of everyday life.

Football holds a special place in Morocco. The national team’s historic run to the 2022 World Cup semi-final only strengthened interest in Moroccan football. And another major event lies ahead: in 2030, Morocco will co-host the World Cup together with Spain and Portugal.

Look not so much at the scale of a sporting event as at how people react to it. Fans discuss what really matters to them and what they enjoy. Track where the most activity happens: videos, highlights, discussions and comments, and the type of content the audience chooses. Once you understand what locals love, it becomes much easier to engage with them and earn their trust.

But remember: the popularity of football, or any other sport, says nothing on its own about a user’s readiness to engage with a betting product.

The core audience we work with in Morocco is men aged 20–35. They are heavy consumers of mobile content, respond quickly to relevant content and are not willing to spend much time figuring out complex or unclear products. But there is a nuance. Yes, they engage quickly and get excited quickly, but they don’t make decisions on the spot.

Based on the experience of our regional teams, a Moroccan user first gets acquainted with an offer; if it suits them, they check the brand via search, study the website and only then return to the product.

That is why I always draw partners’ attention to the quality of the user journey. The first touchpoint should spark interest, and the following ones should give the person enough information to evaluate the product. This is how trust is built step by step, and trust is critical for the Moroccan audience.

There is another important factor: differences within the audience itself.

Language. Arabic, Tamazight and French are widely spoken in Morocco. And choosing a language is not just a matter of translation. In everyday life Moroccans use Arabic and Tamazight, while French is common among city dwellers. Language influences which audience you attract, and this is reflected in smartphone usage.

Around 80% of devices run on Android. But you shouldn’t focus exclusively on the mass segment. In our observation, the narrower French-speaking iOS audience shows a higher average check and better retention.

Since I’ve touched on promotion, let me talk about traffic sources. In Morocco, the audience actively uses social networks and platforms, but broad reach doesn’t always mean high-quality users. From our experience, I would highlight several specifics of working with traffic:

• Main sources. TikTok, YouTube, Telegram, Twitch and Kick show good results in terms of audience quality and LTV. At the same time, Facebook and WhatsApp remain important channels of everyday digital communication.
• Creatives. UGC builds trust, but individual ad funnels lose effectiveness within 1–3 days, so they need to be refreshed regularly.
• Conversion. Users quite often check the brand via search and study the website and available information about the company. That makes SEO, brand awareness and reputation extremely important.
• Top games. There is strong demand in Morocco for simple game mechanics with fast results. Examples include Crash, Plinko, Aviator, Crystal and Apple of Fortune. These formats are clear to the user from the very first seconds, but initial interest in a game does not yet mean sustained engagement.
• Betting. Football remains one of Moroccans’ main interests. The national team’s success, European championships and major international tournaments create strong sporting news hooks. Interest in national team matches is especially noticeable, with social media activity building up around them.

My main takeaway: Morocco cannot be judged by a few days of advertising activity or a single successful funnel. Here it is especially important to understand how users differ within one GEO, why they trust a brand and which factors influence their further behaviour.