An iGaming funnel on Telegram is long: an ad, a free signals channel, a VIP group, a registration link, and only then the first deposit, often days later and on a casino or bookmaker's own platform. The ad platform sees the click and nothing after it. This guide shows how the first-time deposit is traced back to the ad that started it, and what to read before scaling.
Most iGaming and betting funnels on Telegram follow the same shape, whatever the brand:
The question the media buyer needs answered is not "how many clicks" but "cost per FTD by ad, and which ads bring depositors who stay". Each step above hands the person to a different system, and attribution only works if one identifier survives every hand-over. That identifier is the click id. See Telegram funnel tracking for the general method.
fbclid, ttclid, gclid and the others), the UTM labels and sub1 to sub9, and the visitor is sent into Telegram: to the bot with a start code, or with direct join straight to a single-use invite link minted for that click.{clickid}, {utm_*} and {sub1} to {sub9}, so the operator's registration page receives the click id in its own parameter, exactly as it would from a website.The only link that must never be shared untracked is the registration link. A plain operator link in the channel carries no click id, and the postback that follows arrives with an empty one. See Telegram postback tracking for the full mechanics.
Ad platforms have no FTD event. What they optimise towards best is a Purchase with a value, so that is what an FTD becomes. The postback grammar is the one affiliate trackers already use:
GET https://www.tellmetric.com/postback?clickid={clickid}&status=ftd&payout=50¤cy=EUR&txid={transaction_id}&api_key=YOUR_KEY
status=reg records the registration; status=ftd the first deposit; status=dep later deposits. ftd and dep become a Purchase with the payout as value.payout can be the deposit amount or the commission you are paid; choose one and keep it, because this is the value Meta and TikTok will optimise towards.txid is part of the event id, so a repeated postback for the same deposit is ignored while a second deposit from the same person is counted.Deposits can also be matched by Telegram user id through the event API when the operator does not hold the click id but your bot knows who the person is. The exact URL with your key and the Keitaro and RedTrack templates are on the developer page; the general guide is How to track Telegram deposits.
In iGaming the FTD is rare and slow; a campaign can run for a week before the first one lands. Two earlier numbers tell you whether a creative is worth keeping until then.
Leaves are recorded with their reason (left or removed) and never sent anywhere; they only lower the retained count. Watching cost per retained member for the first days lets you cut creatives before the FTD data arrives, which is where most of the budget goes. See Telegram group growth tracking.
The figures below are illustrative, not benchmarks. Two creatives for the same signals channel, each with €600 of spend over a week:
| Creative | Clicks | Joins | Retained after 7 days | FTDs | Cost per join | Cost per retained | Cost per FTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: "free signals, join now" | 2,000 | 800 | 240 | 4 | €0.75 | €2.50 | €150 |
| B: "how our VIP bets are sized" | 900 | 300 | 210 | 8 | €2.00 | €2.86 | €75 |
On clicks and cost per join, A wins by a wide margin. On cost per retained member the two are close, and on cost per FTD B is half the price. The join numbers alone would have sent the budget to the wrong creative; retention was the early warning, and the postbacks settled it. With FTDs sent back to Meta as Purchases with value, the campaign can be optimised for depositors, which tends to push delivery towards the audience behind B.
In many markets Meta, Google and TikTok will not run gambling ads without an authorisation the operator or affiliate cannot easily obtain, and Telegram's own ad network is the route buyers take. Telegram Ads append no click id and have no conversion API, so the per-click method above does not apply; attribution is per creative instead. Each creative gets its own link, and so its own t.me address: a permanent invite the bot makes for a channel, or a bot start code. Every join through it is credited to the creative, the offer link still carries that creative's labels and the person's click id out to the operator, and the FTD postback still lands on the creative's row.
Spend is entered by hand on the Telegram Ads page under Ad accounts, after which cost per join, cost per retained member, cost per deposit and the return appear per creative. Nothing is sent back to Telegram Ads, because there is nowhere to send it; optimisation stays manual. See Telegram Ads conversion tracking and the Telegram pixel explained.
Meta, Google and TikTok restrict gambling and real-money gaming advertising. In most countries an advertiser needs the platform's written authorisation, a local licence, and compliance with age and geographic targeting rules before such ads can run at all; some countries are closed entirely. Telegram Ads has its own policies. Rules change, and the advertiser is responsible for knowing and following the ones that apply to each market and platform. Tellmetric measures what happens after the click; it does not place ads, hold ad accounts or make a campaign compliant, and a well-attributed campaign on a platform that does not allow it is still a policy breach.
{clickid} in the parameter the operator's tracker expects.reg, ftd and dep, and send a test postback: the response states whether the click was matched.Only a postback URL, in the clickid / status / payout / currency / txid format networks already send to Keitaro, RedTrack or Voluum. If they cannot set headers, the key goes in the URL.
Tellmetric still attributes it; the click never expires. Meta, however, refuses events older than seven days, so send each postback as the deposit happens rather than in a monthly batch.
Yes. Outbound webhooks on Connections forward every join, message and deposit to a URL as a GET template or a signed JSON POST, so Keitaro, Binom or a Google Sheet sees the Telegram part of the funnel.
Meta on every plan; TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Spotify, X and Google Ads on Pro and Agency, each as its purchase event with value.
No. It records clicks, joins and deposits and reports them. Authorisation, licensing and targeting rules are between the advertiser and each platform.
The Free plan requires no card. Upgrade to Pro at any time.