I think that anyone that can survive as a gambling affiliate of any kind in todays competitive environment has enough business sense and abilities to adjust when the landscape changes. In addition, when I started playing poker on the Internet, I didn’t just sign up with the room that had the most advertising. I researched many rooms online before making my decision. Even today, with accounts at about 12-15 rooms I rarely play at Party or Stars who are the two biggest rooms by far. I think that there are many players that seek the information and services of affiliates, even if they don’t know what an affiliate is.
Also, marketing is the name of the game and an affiliate that markets well will make out OK whether they are marketing gambling or not. For instance, if you market poker, how much is the percentage of your poker income that comes from your top 10 players, or your top 20. Volume is good but 10 whales are better than 100 minnows, especially in poker because the whales can keep winning and paying rake. The key is marketing to the correct players, and I think that those players are less likely to blindly sign up because of a TV commercial.
Of course I could be wrong about all of this because I am not a successful affiliate yet. My knowledge is from the brick and mortar business world, but the same concepts apply. Good marketing is using the tools available to you to the greatest of your advantage whether online or off.
Pokermonger