Vadim Korepov is co-founder of MAC Conferences and the figure behind MAC Yerevan, which returns to Armenia on 26–27 May 2026. This year’s event is expected to bring together more than 5,000 attendees, 200 speakers, and delegates from 62 countries. Korepov’s work gives him a close view of the partnerships, traffic trends, and market dynamics shaping today’s iGaming affiliate sector.
Scale creates opportunity, but it also raises a more practical question: what actually makes an event commercially useful? In this interview with CasinoRank, Korepov discusses why MAC Yerevan has developed a reputation as a deal-making environment, why CIS affiliate teams remain influential in performance marketing, and which GEOs and traffic approaches are creating opportunities in 2026.
MAC has evolved into more than just a conference, how would you describe its role today in the global affiliate ecosystem?
Vadim Korepov: I believe MAC plays a key role as a bridge between East and West in the global arbitration ecosystem and affiliate trends. It’s no secret that Russian-speaking affiliates and teams from the CIS are extremely strong in their approaches — especially in black-hat niches — while Western affiliate programs and products are actively looking for that kind of traffic. MAC is the ideal place where these two sides come together, meet, and form mutually beneficial business partnerships.
What makes MAC Yerevan a “deal-making environment” rather than just a networking event?
Vadim Korepov: The main goal of any conference is to help people connect and close deals. More often than not, the challenge is actually meeting the right people — at some events the atmosphere just isn’t conducive to networking. At MAC, we do everything we can to make it easy and comfortable for attendees to connect. We host numerous networking events, an official pre-party, a wide range of side events, and plenty of lounges and dedicated areas across the venue.
Some of these lounges are themed, which makes it easier to find potential partners who share your focus. And of course, the highlight is our massive official afterparty for nearly 4,000 people. The afterparty is where networking becomes effortless in a more relaxed, informal setting. That’s often where you can meet top executives or C-level decision-makers — much easier than during the conference itself. There’s no need to book meetings in advance or try to squeeze into someone’s packed schedule. You might simply end up chatting with them at one of the tables in our diamond zone. That’s why we always recommend getting access to the afterparty if your goal is to meet top players and close valuable deals. The iGaming industry is good at first contact but struggles with turning it into sustained relationships.
Another important point is that MAC attracts companies that don’t usually attend other CIS conferences. The same goes for affiliates — many who come to MAC don’t typically travel to other international events. As a result, the deals made at MAC are often especially lucrative, because it brings together people who simply wouldn’t cross paths anywhere else.
Which traffic sources or strategies discussed at MAC are driving the highest ROI in iGaming today?
Vadim Korepov: Traffic sources and approaches evolve every year, but Facebook, Google, and iOS still seem to dominate. There are plenty of other sources and unconventional tactics that can deliver very high ROI, but they’re hard to scale. Russian-speaking affiliates are particularly good at finding these smaller sources that generate exceptional ROI and strong profits. That said, the major sources remain the ones I mentioned earlier.
As for approaches, app-based funnels are definitely the most popular right now. Different types of apps are being used. CIS affiliates often build large infrastructures around their media buying operations — farming Apple Store and Google Play accounts, preparing accounts for traffic delivery, and developing supporting tools that allow them to operate at scale with major traffic sources.
At MAC, there’s a strong focus on testing new GEOs, which emerging markets are delivering the best results in 2026?
Vadim Korepov: New geos are constantly emerging. They flare up and then fade away. Right now, there’s a lot of buzz around new and promising markets in Africa, with projections to reach $4.1 billion by 2031. I keep hearing from affiliate teams that they’re actively running traffic there.
India is still highly profitable for many products — that’s no secret — but there are also new geos that are performing well right now. You can learn about them by attending MAC and listening to talks on the main stage. I know for a fact that several speakers will be covering this topic and revealing insights into emerging markets.
MAC brings together many of the top CIS-based media buying teams, what makes them so dominant in performance marketing?
Vadim Korepov: CIS affiliate teams typically take a comprehensive approach — it’s no longer a ‘garage operation’ but large teams with dedicated departments focused heavily on launch preparation. In some teams, one buyer may be supported by four or five people handling creatives, payments, accounts, and more — essentially taking care of all operational tasks.
Secondly, affiliates from the CIS have traditionally been strong on the technical side. They know how to work around restrictions imposed by traffic sources, regulators, and the market in general. That requires deep technical expertise — something Russian-speaking specialists are well known for.
What can international companies learn from CIS-based teams when it comes to scaling performance marketing?
Vadim Korepov: I’d say the key thing Western teams can learn from Russian-speaking affiliates is their structured, large-scale approach to traffic and their ability to navigate around traffic source restrictions. Russian-speaking teams excel at this and are generally open to sharing their expertise.
Many new approaches actually originate in the CIS. If I’m not mistaken, Russian-speaking affiliates were among the first to push traffic through mobile apps, for example. As for other strategies, it’s probably better to hear directly from practitioners on the MAC main stage. We carefully select experienced affiliates who will share their insights, tactics, and real-world case studies.
I’d especially recommend Arthur Dja’s talk — he’ll be covering Facebook traffic and often shares clever ways to work around Facebook restrictions. He’s particularly strong in that area.
MAC is often described as a place where “conversations turn into contracts”, why does it outperform other events in terms of ROI?
Vadim Korepov: The value of MAC lies in the fact that top-tier specialists attend the event. Historically, MAC has been popular with old-school affiliates — people who first came in 2017–2018 as solo affiliates or small team owners. Today, many of them run large holdings or groups of affiliate teams. These are decision-makers who can make strategic calls, and MAC gives you direct offline access to them — which makes it much easier to close deals.
When you partner with players like that, you’re not getting 1x traffic — you might be getting 50x. That’s the real value of MAC.
And again, MAC acts as a bridge between East and West. At other conferences, these decision-makers simply wouldn’t meet — they just don’t attend the same events.
What’s one traffic strategy or channel currently underestimated in iGaming?
Vadim Korepov: I think the focus shouldn’t be on a specific traffic source or strategy, but rather on new geos where the same sources can perform better. For example, Facebook might deliver stronger results in certain emerging markets. It’s also worth exploring native ad networks — in some geos they’re still relatively untapped and can produce excellent performance.
And of course, we shouldn’t forget influencer traffic. It has historically performed well, especially in newer geos where audiences aren’t yet saturated and haven’t developed banner blindness. Influencer traffic can still deliver strong results there.
What’s something most companies still get wrong about scaling in iGaming?
Vadim Korepov: That’s a great question. For affiliate teams, one key point is not to over-inflate infrastructure budgets. Affiliate marketing growth phases are cyclical — there have ups and downs. When volumes drop — fewer FTDs, less traffic — profits fall quickly, but infrastructure costs stay the same. Teams often forget to optimize these expenses when performance is strong.
When stats are skyrocketing, nobody pays attention to infrastructure costs. But later, this can become a major issue and lead to serious losses. It’s important not to overlook that.
With a background in digital media and a keen eye for emerging technologies, Ronaldo bridges the gap between players and platforms through clear, insightful reporting to the iGaming industry.
