The US iGaming market is two markets stacked on top of each other: licensed real-money sportsbook + casino in regulated states, and sweepstakes social casino almost everywhere else.
Sweepstakes wins on TAM — it ships in 45+ states — but loses on RPU. Real-money operators in NJ, PA, MI, and Ontario monetize 4-6x harder per active player, but the addressable audience is a fraction of the country.
Smart affiliates run both: sweepstakes for top-of-funnel scale, regulated real-money for premium CPA in licensed states. Mixing the two requires careful tracking discipline — but the blended LTV is where the real money lives.