Eugene Ravdin discusses Meta's ad-free subscriptions in the UK and their impact on iGaming advertising with Affiliate Leaders

Eugene Ravdin, Head of PR at SEOBROTHERS, sat down with Viktor Kayed of Affiliate Leaders – SBC Media’s print magazine for senior marketers and affiliates – to discuss how Meta’s premium ad-free subscriptions in the UK could reshape the advertising landscape in iGaming.

Meta has begun trialling paid subscriptions for Facebook and Instagram, and WhatsApp users in the UK, offering an ad-free experience at £2.99 per month on desktop and £3.99 on mobile. With a combined 71.7 million UK users across Facebook and Instagram, the move raises important questions for iGaming brands that rely heavily on Meta’s platforms for user acquisition.

Still too big to ignore

Despite the potential reduction in ad-reachable audiences, Eugene Ravdin argued that Meta’s platforms remain essential for iGaming advertisers.

“I don’t think they would move to other platforms and abandon Facebook and Instagram because even without those 10% [ad-free subscribers], or even if it’s 20%, this is still a huge market. As a brand, as a company, and as an advertiser, you don’t want to lose that audience,” he said.

Lessons from Europe: lower conversion, same costs

Meta has already rolled out similar ad-free models across other European markets, offering early signals of what UK advertisers may face. Eugene Ravdin shared first-hand observations from SEOBROTHERS’ own experience.

“While ad prices have not gone up drastically, there’s less traffic coming in from our ads on Meta. There’s also a lower conversion rate. This has obviously taken away some of our core potential clients. So even if we’re paying the same money, even if we’re getting the same views and the same reach, the quality of traffic has diminished, and the conversion rate has decreased. For that reason, affiliates will have to be super creative about their ads and campaigns.”

Cross-platform advertising and smarter budgets

Looking ahead, Ravdin predicted that the mobile-desktop subscription split will drive a new wave of cross-platform ad strategies.

“I think we’ll start producing more follow-up ads. If a user clicks on a mobile app, but doesn’t convert, they are later shown a more detailed version of the same ad, but on desktop. And vice versa. There will be a need for an even bigger distinction between formats and messaging in mobile and desktop ads.”

He added that the shift will require advertisers to be more deliberate across the board: “Brands will have to think twice about which vertical to advertise on. They’ll have to budget more effectively and really understand and analyse their customers better.”

📄 Read the full interview in PDF or text.

The interview was first published in Issue 4 of Affiliate Leaders, SBC Media’s print magazine for senior marketers and affiliates.