N.E.V.E.R.
I’ve written a book on problem gambling, solely by following my best friend (who was sadly terribly addicted) around casinos in Australia and New Zealand (and of course, turned it into a marketing coup and made money from it) but I never ‘gamble’ online with my own money.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the thrill of getting something for nothing, but I prefer to make money online, withdraw into cash and then head to Vegas once or twice a year and throw down on the craps table (we have none in NZ) ’til 6 in the morn, much more fun that way.
Too many affiliates end up funding their habit with their commissions and never really enjoying the fruits that casino affiliate marketing has to offer.
You have to ‘play’ to get screenshots and material for reviews etc, but that can all be done with free play accounts and your rep can give you clean screen shots.
I do have friends that play online (I never let friends sign up under me as that makes the friendship weird when you know how much they gamble online and you profit from it) and I often ask them for help on reviews etc.
But I’ve never really gambled myself online in almost a decade of casino affiliate marketing and I reckon that’s why I’ve been able to do ok out of it.
Besides, with 30x and up to 50x playthrough requirement, who has time for that anyway?!
(our players, thank god!)