iGaming Traffic from Telegram: Quantity or Quality?

Telegram is known for its pretty lax rules regarding iGaming—if anything, it’s full of related channels and mini apps, so it seems a perfect traffic source for iGaming traffic. What’s more, many CPA offers are actively seeking traffic from Telegram or allowing it alongside Push, Popunder, and other, more familiar sources.

We asked the experts – representatives of three CPA networks, who actually deal with iGaming traffic daily and know the nuts and bolts of its quality. And here is what they say about Telegram traffic quality.

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What Do Advertisers Love About Telegram iGaming Traffic?

In this part, we’ll leave everything else aside and look only at the advantages of Telegram traffic. It has some, and they are quite unbeatable, look:

1. It’s cheap. This is the most obvious perk of Telegram traffic: its CPC (Cost Per Click) is much lower than you can get with Facebook ads or PPC advertising. At the same time, the conversion rates are often higher: Telegram users willingly register and deposit. 
2. It’s quick. It usually takes less than an hour from a click to the first deposit. It happens because a Telegram user immediately enters this funnel: ‘click → registration → deposit’, without long warm-up phases. According to Riddick’s Partners multi-vertical affiliate network, the contrast is evident with FB or Google, where it can take hours or even days for a user to see the offer, click, come back, and make a decision.

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Telegram iGaming Traffic: The Hidden Challenges

Despite plenty of advantages, there are issues, and the most common ones are the FTD (first-time deposit) conversion rates and a certain share of irrelevant users. 

1. Unstable traffic quality. Some advertisers complain about the performance: it’s not always profitable enough, especially compared to the ROI and EV of Push and Popunder traffic. As Riddick’s Partners experts noticed, this is mostly a problem for Android traffic – it often has more fraud and lower engagement. iOS users from Telegram behave better: they’re more active and more likely to deposit. But there’s not much iOS traffic to work with. 

Note: Some advertisers also report a pretty significant percentage of bot traffic from Telegram.  However, it’s not so harsh at PropellerAds: first, we deliver traffic from Telegram Mini Apps — a different, higher-quality audience. Besides, we have powerful anti-fraud filters that won’t allow any bots to ruin your performance.

2. Low FTD conversion. Telegram’s FTD rates are comparatively low because the traffic is pretty demanding. To hit a conversion here, you need to build more complicated funnels and optimize more thoroughly with certain GEO specifics in mind.

As the representatives of Riddick’s Partners say, the FTD rate in Telegram rarely exceeds 1-2%. GEO plays a role: Tier-3 regions often see lower rates; Tier-1 performs slightly better, especially with a well-optimized pre-lander. 

Some brands see better performance. As Konstantin Ulanov shared, ‘if we’re talking about some parts of the CIS market, a stable benchmark is 7-9% registration to deposit (reg-to-dep) ratio. Some peak cases in LATAM have reached 20%+, but these are more the exceptions of strong local brands and a loyal user base. What brands value much more is the speed of sign-up: Telegram allows you to reach the subscription KPI in just 24 hours.’

3. Weak user retention. As Riddick’s Partners claimed, players from Telegram rarely return or make repeat deposits. Even those who do deposit often churn after the first time. Statistics say, about 25% of users make a second deposit. So, while being perfect for quick one-off actions, Telegram struggles a bit with long-term retention. 

Yes, this audience is unlikely to show strong retention for iGaming brands, where real deposits are required. However, those chasing freebies either lose interest or adapt to mechanics that involve actual spending, and the retention rates will grow.

Konstantin Ulanov: Telegram ROI takes longer to show up compared to web traffic due to lower retention and a longer deposit funnel. The first re-deposit pours in quickly: about a quarter of players who made a FTD deposit again within 30 days. With well-structured push campaigns and bonus marathons in mini apps, this rate can climb to 40%. However, channels driving traffic to iGaming sites without in-game communication see rates drop to 15%, with player lifespans rarely exceeding two months.’

So, here are the main issues of Telegram traffic. Are they serious? Quite so: some advertisers are very cautious about Telegram traffic. Here, for example, is what Roman Manuylov, the CEO of Alfaleads Group, thinks about it:

But does it really mean that Telegram users are not even worth bothering? No, definitely not. However, you need to filter and analyze it accurately and carefully, and work with reliable sources.

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How to control the TG traffic quality?

The plan is similar to almost any other traffic source: you analyze, fight the bots and fraud, and keep attracting a high-quality audience.

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How to analyze?

No matter the Telegram traffic type – Mini App bots, or manual ad seeding in Telegram channels – you’ll need to control the same quality metrics: 

• The number of repeat deposits
• The average deposit
• The number of purchases (if you have access to it)

The key lies in user engagement depth, so the analytical methods remain the same. Telegram Mini Apps can bring more motivated traffic with stronger intent, but that’s the only slight difference.

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How to fight bots?

There are three practices you can apply to make sure you bring high-quality traffic from Telegram:

1. Using antibot filters. There are plenty of them, but here are some recommended by Riddick’s Partners experts:

Adspect. An anti-fraud service that filters out low-quality traffic before it reaches the product. It works as a prelander’s gatekeeper.

Binom v2. An advanced tracker with extended filters and metrics. Precisely segments non-converting traffic, with customizable rule-based classification.

Pre-landing scripts. One of the simplest methods: a script tracks a page activity – scroll depth, clicks, etc. Users with zero engagement are flagged as bots and blocked from entering the system.

The combination of filters and scripts significantly reduces low-quality traffic share and protects the traffic source’s reputation.

2. Whitelisting. Even when targeting Tier-1 in Telegram, you can result in having up to 60% of traffic coming from Tier-2/3. That’s why you need to strictly whitelist the channels where you seed your ads.
3. Creative segmentation. Again, as the audiences from different Tiers blend in Telegram, you need to pick the right creatives to attract people from the GEOs you really need. For example, if a brand requires Canadian users, highlight this directly in the ad copy or banner.

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How to attract the right audience?

Again, there’s nothing significantly different here from other formats. You need to test creatives, understand who you are targeting, and mix your Telegram campaigns with retargeting channels.

1. Creatives. According to Riddick’s Partners’ tests, the best option for Telegram is something neutral and non-intrusive. The more aggressive, shouting offers might result in a low-quality traffic spike with almost zero deposits. However, some media buyers notice that some part of the audience – for example, TMA users – consists of free stuff seekers, so whale-sized giveaways might attract them better than minimalist creatives.
2. Audience. The highest LTV usually comes from male users aged 25–45. This demographic shows higher redeposit and retention rates, and a stronger engagement with tournaments and bonus mechanics. In contrast, younger players (18–24 years old) mainly show one-time interest and quick churn after losses. 

3. Retargeting. Many agree that Telegram traffic should be treated as a wide top-of-funnel source: it brings in a lot of users, but it’s harder to monetize most of them. This makes retargeting crucial, and you can do this through additional channels like SMS, email, or bots, if the offer requirements allow it. Overall, this traffic works best in a mix with various warming up funnels and other traffic sources: this way, you create a synergy and brand visibility.

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To Sum Up

Telegram traffic is quick and cheap, but requires careful analysis. But which source doesn’t, after all? Filter well, retarget, analyze, and you’ll see the full Telegram potential.