Sub-Affiliate
An affiliate who recruits other affiliates and earns a share of their referred revenue, forming a second commission tier.
Definition
In a sub-affiliate arrangement, a 'master' affiliate brings other affiliates into an operator's programme and receives a percentage of the commission those sub-affiliates generate, on top of their own direct referrals. It lets successful affiliates scale by building a network rather than only creating traffic themselves, and gives operators wider reach through one relationship. The structure adds a layer of distance between the operator and the ultimate marketer, which can complicate oversight of how players are being advertised to — a compliance concern, since the operator is still accountable for conduct several tiers down. It should not be confused with illegal pyramid schemes, though poorly governed multi-tier structures attract scrutiny.
Worked example
A master affiliate earning 5% of the revenue their recruited sub-affiliates generate might make more from their network than from their own site, while the operator must still ensure every downstream partner advertises compliantly.
Why it matters
For a learner, it reveals the tiered economics some affiliate income is built on. For a professional, it is a scaling model that stretches compliance oversight across multiple, often hidden, tiers.