APRIL/MAY 2013
APRIL/MAY 2013
THE ANATOMY OF THE SUPER AFFILIATE
INTERVIEW: JEZ SAN OBE SPECIAL REPORT: FINANCIAL TRADING NEVADA AND NEW JERSEY SIGN IGAMING BILLS INFORMATION, INSIGHT AND ANALYSIS FOR THE BUSINESS OF INTERACTIVE GAMING
CONTENTS Events Calendar 04 Webmaster News 06 Going Global in SEO: Keyword Research and Translations 12 Granular Penalties in SEO 15 SEO in the US: What Colour Hat Should iGaming Brands Wear? 18 Responsive Design for Sportsbetting Sites 20 There are many perspectives on what defines a super affiliate, with the traditional position being that they account for the top one or two percent of affiliates that generate approximately 90 percent of any affiliate program’s earnings. But times are changing, as is the ability of any single affiliate to account for so much of a partner’s revenue. This issue, we explore the anatomy of the super affiliate in an attempt to understand what separates them from the rest. We also examine one of the newer areas of opportunity for gaming affiliates: financial trading products. Our special report looks into the increasingly popular areas of forex and binary options and how affiliates in the gaming industry can take advantage of the cross selling opportunities that exist between the two sectors.
Forex SEM for Arabic and Chinese Markets 22 Special Report: Financial Trading 24 Another Dimension: Jez San OBE, President and Founder of PKR 42 State of the Union: the Winners and Runners-up in the Intra-state Race 44 The US iGaming Industry and Affiliates: the Evolution of Markets 46 US Affiliates: Hurry up and Wait 48 iGB Affiliate Awards Special 52 The Anatomy of the Super Affiliate 56 Defining the Super Affiliate with Oddschecker and BingoPort 60 How to be a Super Affiliate 62 Interview: Elen Garth, Head of Affiliates, Unibet 64 The Buzz about Bitcoins 66 US Data Centre and State Guide 68 iGaming Data Centre 70 Market Place 72
Finally, we report from the US where New Jersey has finally passed legislation that sees it become the third US state to legalise forms of intra-state iGaming. The US opportunity for affiliates will become more apparent as the current regulated environments evolve and more states come online, but until then, the overriding message to affiliates is to be patient.
Top 100 Gaming Companies 74
Michael Caselli, Editor in Chief
http://tinyurl.com/igbaffiliate @igbaffiliate
Editor in Chief: Michael Caselli
FREE SUBSCRIPTION email: alex.pratt@igamingbusiness.com
michaelc@igamingbusiness.com
Published by: iGaming Business,
Printed in the UK by: Pensord Press, www.pensord.co.uk
Editor: James McKeown
33-41 Dallington Street, London EC1V 0BB
james@igamingbusiness.com
www.igamingbusiness.com
Publisher: Alex Pratt
publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
T: +44 (0)20 7954 3515 F: +44 (0)20 7954 3511 © iGaming Business 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this
alex.pratt@igamingbusiness.com
by any means, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature
Designer: Kyle Young
under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. Application
Production Coordinator: Carianne Whitworth
to reproduce extracts in other published works shall be made to
without prior written permission, except for permitted fair dealing for permission for use of copyright material including permission
Carianne.whitworth@electricwordplc.com
the publishers. Full acknowledgement of author, publisher and
Sales Manager: James King
published by iGaming Business Limited of 33-41 Dallington Street,
james.king@igamingbusiness.com
correspondents are their own. Editorial opinions expressed in this
source must be given. iGaming Business Affiliate Magazine is London, EC1V 0BB, UK. The views expressed by contributors and
Senior Sales Executive: Ed Grundy
magazine are not necessarily those of the Publisher.
ed@igamingbusiness.com
content. Cover image: istockphoto.com
The Publisher does not accept responsibility for advertising
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
3
v
affiliate events calendar Due to their popularity and wealth of information, analysis and discussion, conferences have become an integral part of the affiliate industry and a key communications bridge between affiliates and affiliate managers. Whether used for networking, education or just an excuse to meet up with friends, the affiliate conferences listed below provide all the tools you need to improve your business.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
iGaming Super Show AmstErdam, Netherlands
June 11 - 14, 2013
June 11 – 14, 2013
After a 4 year break iGB Affiliate returns to Amsterdam, the original home of the affiliate conferences. The Amsterdam Affiliate Conference is part of the iGaming Super Show and is expected to be a huge success with over 2,500 delegates in attendance of which 1,500 will be affiliates. Expect four days of conferences, exhibition and networking events with the elite in iGaming, in a city that is like no other. This genuinely is an event that mixes business with pleasure, and one you certainly cannot afford to miss.
iGaming Super Show – incorporating iGaming Business 4 Business; BeTS; mGaming and Social Gambling Summit: iGaming Executive Summit; PRiME; Amsterdam Affiliate Conference and Gaming in Holland.
Amsterdam Affiliate Conference
www.igamingsupershow.com
www.AmsterdamAffiliateConference.com
Barcelona Affiliate Conference Barcelona, spain October 3 - 6, 2013 The Barcelona Affiliate Conference is back in the sunny coastal city, giving affiliates and affiliate programs the perfect environment to make new contacts and do business. Last year we had over 1600 attendees join us for four days of learning, conference, exposition and networking. So put the dates in your diary and attend on the 3rd-6th of October 2012 for one of the most comprehensive and well respected affiliate events of the year. www.BarcelonaAffiliateConference.com
4
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
Discover a world of possibilities Join our global affiliate program and promote the most-recognised brands in the industry. Become a partner of the leader in digital entertainment. Add major brands to your portfolio, such as bwin with up to 30,000 daily bets, PartyPoker with over 30 million downloads and PartyCasino with more than 160 games. We work with the world’s leading sports clubs – become our affiliate and work with them too. The world’s leading gaming brands.
webmaster news
New Jersey and Nevada Sign iGaming Bills into Law It was a historic few days in the history of regulated iGaming in the United States in February, as the governors of Nevada and New Jersey signed bills into law that legalised inter-state poker and, latterly, intra-state online gaming. After over two years of deliberation that has resulted in two previous vetoes of bills put forward by Senator Raymond Lesniak, Governor Chris Christie finally signed legislation that will see New Jersey follow Delaware and Nevada in legalising forms of online gaming. The amended legislation, which included a provision for a sunset clause after ten years for Internet gambling and a five percent increase in
the tax on winnings to 15 percent, was comfortably passed in the state Senate by 35-1 and in the Assembly by 68-5 with a single abstention. “This was a critical decision, and one that I did not make lightly,” Christie said in a statement. “But with the proper regulatory framework and safeguards that I insisted on including in the bill, I am confident that we are offering a responsible yet exciting option that will make Atlantic City more competitive while also bringing financial benefits to New Jersey as a whole.” On the other side of the US, and sandwiched between the time it took
Governor Christie to conditionally veto and then sign the amended New Jersey legislation, Nevada Governor, Brian Sandoval, was busy signing legislation into law that will allow the Silver State to enter into compacts to offer inter-state online poker. Assembly Bill 114, introduced during a floor session by Democrat Nevada Assemblymen, William Horne, allows the Governor to enter into compacts with other states and also contains a provision with some exceptions instituting a fiveyear ban (the ‘Bad Actor’ clause) on any operator that accepted US-based patrons after December 31, 2006.
Zynga Enters Real Money Online Gambling Market Zynga has entered the world of real money online gambling after launching web and download versions of its ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino brands for players in the UK. In partnership with bwin.party digital entertainment, the new brands are being made available to players over the age of 18 with Zynga additionally announcing that it plans to launch mobile and Facebook-based versions later in the year. “Launching the download and web versions of Zynga’s real money games for play in the UK is an exciting move to bring players the real money games they have
been asking us for,” read a statement from Zynga. “We look forward to launching our social versions of real money games for players on Facebook and mobile in the UK throughout 2013.” ZyngaPlusPoker is an online poker room that offers a variety of games and tournaments for buy-ins of every level while there are over 160 slots alongside a selection of table games including blackjack, roulette and as well as the first-ever FarmVillethemed slot at ZyngaPlusCasino.co.uk. “No matter whether players choose to play using the download or on the web, they will use a single wallet shared across both
versions,” Zynga stated. “Our long-term vision is to offer our players the next generation of real money games on multiple platforms in regulated markets worldwide. We take responsible gaming seriously and are proud to partner with bwin.party, an industry leader and a reputable company that is fully licensed by a premier regulatory authority. “This is just the beginning for us and we’re looking forward to seeing what our UK players think about ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino and creating the most valuable casino games and social experiences for them.”
Texas Considers Federal Opt-in for iGaming A Democrat member of the Texas Senate has introduced proposed legislation that would see the state fully opt-in to any future federal measure legalising the operation of online poker. Texas State Senate Joint Resolution 43 was introduced by Leticia Van Der Putte in early March and would amend the state’s constitution to allow for the legalisation of online poker should voters approve via an election on November 5. “If a federal law is enacted that establishes a licensing programme to licence the operation of online poker facilities and that allows any state the option of applying the law to authorise licensed online poker facilities to accept bets for online poker games from
6
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
individuals located in the state; this state is considered to have opted into the application of the law and the operation of any Internet gambling facility in this state is subject to the provisions of the federal law,” reads Sub-Section A of the proposed legislation. In addition, the proposal would also allow the state to adopt rules for the licensing and operation of online poker by the Texas Lottery Commission in the absence of any intervening federal legislation. “In the absence of enabling legislation to implement Sub-Section A of this section, the authority of this state to operate lotteries under Section 47e of this article includes the authority of the state agency that operates state lotteries to adopt
rules to implement Sub-Section A of this section and the state agency shall adopt rules necessary to implement online poker in accordance with SubSection A of this section and the applicable federal law,” reads the proposed legislation. The proposal from Van Der Putte has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance where it must pass before going before the Texas Senate for a full vote. The legislation follows that of Democratic Senator, Eddie Rodriguez, whose proposed measures would free-up certain land-based facilities to apply for poker licenses but would also outlaw online poker, video poker and other electronic forms of the game.
webmaster news
Oklahoma Authorises Tribal Online Casino The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes aboriginal group has signed a gaming accord with the state of Oklahoma that will permit the federally-recognised group to offer real-money online gaming to international players. The agreement for a Class III gambling licence will see 20 percent of all revenues earned via the new PokerTribes.com website go to the state while the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes hopes to capture a share of the billions spent around the world on online gambling each year. The agreement signed by first-term Republican Governor Mary Fallin does not need to be approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission, the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Department of the Interior in order to take effect with tribal nations exempt from the Wire Act of 1961 and the associated Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
“The settlement agreement effectively shuts down the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes’ online social gaming network including PokerTribes.com inside the United States in exchange for an agreement that the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes be allowed to operate the site internationally pursuant to international standards and each specific country’s jurisdictional requirements consistent with all state of Oklahoma and United States federal laws,” Janice PrairieChief Boswell, Governor for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, told CapitolBeatOK. “The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes plan to bring this exciting new product to the international market in the very near future. We appreciate the support and cooperation of Governor Fallin of the state of Oklahoma and her staff in making this an historic day for the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. We look forward to working with the state in the future for the common good of our collective peoples.”
Betfair Acquires Blue Square Bet After announcing in January that it was to conduct a review into its Blue Square Bet enterprise, land-based and online gambling operator Rank Group has now sold certain assets including the customer database for its virtual sportsbetting business to rival Betfair. The agreement worth £5 million will see all Blue Square Bet customers automatically redirected to Betfair where they can access a full suite of sportsbetting and gaming products while additionally receiving a promotional welcome offer. “The acquisition is consistent with Betfair’s strategy of focusing on regulated markets and growing its sportsbook and gaming
operations alongside the exchange,” read a statement from Betfair. Rank is also the firm behind online bingo domain MeccaBingo.com and the bricks-and-mortar Grosvenor Casinos chain and declared in January that Blue Square Bet was continuing to generate an operating loss in the ‘highly competitive sportsbetting market’. “Rank intends to focus its resources on further developing Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca as multi-channel brands meeting customer needs in gaming-based entertainment via venues, online and through mobile devices,” read a statement from Rank.
Iowa Online Poker Legislation Dead for the Year While New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and possibly Pennsylvania are moving ahead with online gaming the same cannot be said of the state of Iowa where proposed online poker legislation has failed to progress. Iowa State Senator Jeff Danielson’s Senate Study Bill 1068, which would have legalized online poker in the Hawkeye State, is dead, for the current legislative year at least. “Iowa’s online poker bill did not make it past the committee calendar
deadline this year in the Senate,” read a statement from Danielson. “The House did not express a willingness to pursue it if the Senate passed it again. Therefore, it will not be taken up this year. I will continue to learn as much as I can about this important issue and advocate for policy in Iowa that is thoughtful and responsible. I still believe doing nothing by default does nothing to protect Iowa consumers or help our land-based casinos adapt to changes in business trends.”
PokerStars Declines Offer to Take on Caesars Brands Caesars Entertainment Corporation has reportedly attempted to offload two of its most recognisable brands to online poker operator PokerStars. According to a report from Forbes, an unnamed executive from Caesars Entertainment contacted counterparts at PokerStars in February regarding a preliminary deal for the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino venue and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand. “Caesars Entertainment approached PokerStars and offered to sell us certain assets such as the Rio Casino in Las Vegas,” Eric Hollreiser, Head of Corporate Communications for PokerStars, told Forbes. “Caesars Entertainment suggested that this acquisition would give us a better relationship with Caesars Entertainment and would help PokerStars gain a license in Nevada. PokerStars declined the offer because we had no plans to acquire another casino in the near-term.” PokerStars, through its Rational Group US Holdings parent, is currently in the process of purchasing the Atlantic Club Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City for up to $50 million, and has applied for an intra-state online poker licence from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. However, that process has been complicated of late after the American Gaming Association trade group filed a brief opposing the proposed purchase and calling Rational Group a “business built on deceit, chicanery and the systematic flouting of United States law.” Online Gambling Ban Fails in Kansas The Kansas Senate has failed to pass proposed legislation that would have banned online gambling in the Midwestern state. The measure would have also reclassified the activity as a Class B misdemeanour punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000. The planned House Bill 2055 would have modified existing gambling statutes first approved in 2007 and was part of an effort to bring a stateowned casino to the southeast corner of Kansas but fell by a vote of 24 to 15. Proposed by Republican Kansas Senator Jacob LaTurner, the measure would have also removed authorisations for racetrack gaming facilities and dropped the minimum investment required to obtain a casino management contract in
the area around Pittsburgh from $225 million to $50 million.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
7
webmaster news
PMU Results Boosted by Online
French horseracing monopoly and gambling operator Pari Mutual Urbain (PMU) has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2013 showing static overall stakes year-on-year at €2.5 billion. PMU revealed that gross gaming revenues for the initial three months of 2013 rose by 1.1 percent yearon-year to €642 million while stakes from its online sportsbetting operation increased by 33 percent when compared with the same period last year to €49.2 million. The French operator stated that stakes from its online poker offering swelled by 7.5 percent year-on-year to €139 million to make it one of the “top three or four ecommerce sites in France and [a] top iGaming site across all verticals”. For 2012 as a whole, PMU declared that its overall stakes had enlarged by 2.5 percent year-on-year to €10.5 billion with its online operations over fixed-odds and totalisator horseracing in addition to poker generating €1.6 billion of the total and €270 million in gross gaming revenues, which equates to an improvement of some 16.2 percent year-on-year. PMU proclaimed that wagers placed on horseracing over the Internet accounted for €968 million of the €1.6 billion in total online stakes for 2012 while its overall gross gaming revenues improved by 1.3 percent year-on-year to €2.5 billion. “France’s lack of economic growth in the last two quarters of 2012 and during the first quarter of 2013 has had a direct impact on our customers’ spending patterns since every time there is stagnation or a drop in French people’s purchasing power PMU has felt the aftereffects,” said Philippe Germond, President for PMU.
Competition Commission Approves Rank Acquisition
The UK’s Competition Commission business regulator has given its consent for the Rank Group to purchase the land-based casino estate of rival Gala Coral Group Limited for a total cash consideration of £179 million. Rank announced in May 2012 that it was ready to spend upwards of £205 million in order to take control of the 23 bricks-and-mortar venues operated by Gala Casinos Limited in the UK.
8
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
Betfair Secures World Snooker Sponsorship Betfair has signed a deal to serve as the title sponsor for the 2013 World Snooker Championship from the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. The World Snooker Championship is due to be held from April 20 to May 6 and the agreement with World Snooker will see the event rechristened the Betfair World Championship with four-time winner Ronnie O'Sullivan out to defend his title. “The World Snooker Championship is one of the great sporting occasions,” said Barry Hearn, Chairman of World Snooker. “It’s a tournament that draws the attention of everyone who loves sport, who loves to see the most talented competitors do battle under the most intense and pressurised conditions. “We are thrilled to welcome Betfair as title sponsor for the first time. It has shown
tremendous support for our events this season and the exposure it has already gained for its brand on a worldwide scale has been phenomenal. The World Snooker Championship is guaranteed at least 120 hours of coverage from the BBC and a global audience of 360 million.” Betfair recently served as the title sponsor for The Masters invitational event from London’s Alexandra Palace and also had its name attached to Blackpool’s Snooker Shoot-Out tournament in late-January. “We are delighted to be extending our partnership with World Snooker and the opportunity to further increase our commitment to the sport through title sponsorship of this marquee event is an exciting prospect,” said Barry Orr from Betfair.
Online Poker Documentary Set for June Launch Former professional poker players Jason Rosenkrantz and Taylor Caby are to release a new documentary film in June charting the rise and subsequent fall of online poker, featuring appearances by some of the industry’s leading lights including Dani Stern and Daniel Negreanu. Bet Raise Fold: The Story of Online Poker follows Danielle Moon-Andersen, Tony Dunst and Martin Bradstreet as they use their skills at online poker to build a better life for themselves and their families before having it all ‘stripped away’ following the ‘Black Friday’ indictments of 2011. Described as a “coming-of-age story for an entire generation of young poker professionals”, the first feature-length
documentary film dealing with online poker was funded entirely from winnings (more information on the project’s release date can be found at BetRaiseFoldMovie.com). “Please share the project with anyone you know who has ever been touched by or shown an interest in poker,” said Rosenkrantz, who also produced and starred in the G4 reality television series 2 Months $2 Million. “We’re extremely proud of this movie and grateful we have an opportunity to tell the story of online poker the right way. It's an incredible story and we think we've done it the justice it deserves. We hope you guys do too.”
Ontario Confirms Online Gambling for 2013 The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has confirmed that its Internet gaming programme will be online towards the end of 2013 after announcing that it has selected Spielo G2 (formerly GTECH G2) to run its iGaming operations. Rod Phillips, OLG’s President and CEO, described the move into iGaming as an “exciting step in OLG’s modernisation”, that will see Ontarians able to purchase LOTTO 6/49, LOTTO MAX, and ENCORE
tickets through the PlayOLG.ca website, as well as have access to a suite of casino-style games. The OLG also confirmed that future developments will include online bingo, sportsbetting and poker. The OLG has estimated that the new iGaming programme will be worth $375 million to the province over the first five years and is part of a significant overhaul of Ontario’s gambling system that is seeking to generate up to $1.2 billion in revenue.
Reach your goals
Photo: Toby Maudsley
Fastest paying company in the business excellent back office reporting tool top level support from our affiliate team exclusive affiliate promos pRoFessional creative team GReat conversion
www.nordicbetpartners.com
TRAFFIC
Going Global in SEO: Step 3
Keyword Research and Translations Considering the many cheap translation services available online, localising a site for a new country or language may seem like a trivial matter. However, local keyword research and translation management are two of the most complex ingredients of a successful localisation. In this final instalment of our Going Global in SEO series, we will see how to correctly handle these two critical steps. High quality content is one of the fundamental requirements a site needs to satisfy in order to steadily rank well in search engines. We have all heard the expression ‘content is king’ several times. If that is true, content should be treated as such during the localisation process, dedicating the necessary attention, time and resources to keyword research and translations.
Conducting local keyword research The most important thing to bear in mind when conducting local keyword research is that one should never translate keywords, but ideas. You can, of course, start your keyword research for a new country by translating some of the terms that lead to good results in other markets, but you should not assume that what worked in one country will necessarily work in another. As a matter of fact, keywords are the expression of specific needs and trends, which may differ significantly from country to country. Moreover, the attributes people tend to associate with their topic of interest when searching may change due to contingent situations or cultural elements. For example, while in some countries most people may search for discounts, deals and free games, in other countries these terms can be perceived as indicators of low quality services and, therefore, are not used by high-value players. Finally, several high popularity keyword clusters, such as those related to local
celebrities, local rooms or local events, are country-specific and cannot be translated – they need to be discovered through local research. Once a main set of translated ‘seed’ keywords/ideas is ready, this can be turned into sets of local keywords through the use of tools. The most efficient tool to generate keyword ideas for local markets is no doubt AdWords’ Keyword Selection Tool1. Once a satisfying selection of local keywords has been generated, it can be further expanded for long-tail queries, for example, via the use of tools such as ÜberSuggest2, which provides keyword suggestions based on Google Suggest’s local results. If local regulations allow you to conduct keyword advertising campaigns, another important resource to draw from for local keyword ideas is, of course, your Google AdWords account. Local paid traffic can normally be obtained faster than organic traffic, so if you are refining or extending a local site, chances are you have already conducted a few local campaigns for it. If this is the case, you may already have more information on local keywords and search habits than you think. Finally, you should not forget to check the keywords that successful local competitors are focusing on; their local knowledge will be hard for you to replicate, but you can definitely take a quick look at the words they use to try to understand whether the choice is casual or intentional.
Handling translations the correct way Once the right keywords for a specific market have been identified, they should be used to drive the translation process, which should be carefully managed. Special attention should be paid to critical elements such as word choices, translation quality, contextual meanings and metadata. In order to make sure the keywords defined as detailed in the previous section are correctly used, the best thing to do is create a project-specific dictionary for translators. For example, such a dictionary will tell translators what wording to choose between similar terms, such as ‘sitios de poker’, ‘webs de poker’ and ‘salas de poker’ when translating the English term ‘poker room’ to Spanish, in order to obtain the best results in terms of traffic. In this way, translators’ choices will not be based upon an expression’s proximity in terms of meaning, but on expected SEO performances. On top of this, the ‘dictionary’ should, of course, also tell translators what terms to leave unchanged and provide them with a brief clarification of game-specific terminology. After translators have received translation guidelines and ‘SEO dictionaries’, their first translations should be tested via a peer-to-peer review process, in which different translators proofread each other’s work. This will make it harder for sub-optimal translations to end up on your site. After an acceptable level of trust has been established, this proofreading 1
12
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
https://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool 2 http://ubersuggest.org
TRAFFIC
activity can stop. However, peer reviews should still be performed on a regular basis in order to limit the risk of drops in translation quality. Low quality content means a low quality site which, in turn, means lower rankings, lower conversion rates and, finally, lower revenues. Apart from knowing the best way in which they should translate certain terms for SEO purposes, translators should also know where each piece of content they are translating will end up. As a matter of fact, one should never forget that websites are multi-medial products, no matter how ‘90s’ this term sounds. This translates that the meaning of a specific sentence is related not only to the text itself and its context, but also to the position of the text in the page, the purpose of buttons, and the images, videos and interactive elements around it. For example, text such as “Get it now!” can be easily translated in the wrong way in Italian, French or Spanish if no other info is given on what exactly a person will ‘get’, by doing ‘what’, and ‘where’. On top of this, as different languages bend their verbs and adjectives in different ways depending on the gender and number of nouns they refer to, not knowing the context of a sentence can also lead to embarrassing grammar mistakes. In order to avoid these issues, translators should always receive as much information as possible on the context of the text they are translating and be granted access to the original site, so as to be able to see exactly what the original text referred to.
Last but not least, the most important element to worry about when handling translations is metadata. HTML Title tags, Meta Description tags and URLs are characterised by a series of requirements and technical limitations most translators and translation agencies are not familiar with. As you most likely already know, HTML Titles and Meta Descriptions should not be longer than a certain amount of characters, make a very careful use of keywords, contain specific calls-to-action and mention a page’s unique selling propositions in order to persuade users to click on a result and take action. URLs have even stronger constraints in terms of acceptable length, are even more important in terms of keyword placement and are harder to update and revise once a site is launched. Most translators may have a hard time in understanding the meaning and reason of these constraints, and may get the job wrong despite their good intentions. Because of this, it is extremely important to not only explain to them the important role these elements play on your site but also to double and triple check the final result in order to make sure your metadata satisfies all technical requirements and delivers the right message to potential players. As seen in the points raised in this article, despite the broad availability of translation services and tools, localising the content of a site remains a tricky process, especially if one wants to be able to reach competitive SEO rankings for the
right keywords and present users with high quality, localised content. However, paying the right attention to elements such as keyword selection, translation management, translator education and proofreading can help make the process smoother and more profitable. Having seen how to get your site technically ready for internationalisation, how to wisely choose the appropriate domain or URL and, finally, how to correctly handle local keyword research and translations, all you have left to do is go global in SEO. Buona Fortuna! Matteo Monari is the COO of BizUp, a result-driven Internet marketing agency specialising in competitive segments and international link building (http://www.bizupmedia.com). With a background in Languages and Human Computer Interaction, Matteo has been a successful Internet marketing specialist for more than six years. During his career, he has worked for some of the biggest affiliates and operators in the iGaming world, helping them to successfully expand their businesses across Europe. After heading the SEO department of Europe’s leading content-on-demand company, Matteo is now leading BizUp’s link building team, providing links in five languages to clients in more than fifteen different countries. You can follow him on Twitter as @matteo_monari and contact him at m.monari@bizupmedia.com.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
13
TRAFFIC
SEO: Granular Penalties for Extreme Sports Fans By SEO expert and founder of Media Skunk Works, Paul Reilly. The granular penalty, as Google refers to it in its Webmaster Tools, carries a surprise sentence which is applied to a URL with both an undetermined time duration on the x-axis and a baffling set of variables to determine the severity of the punishment along the y-axis; or to put it in plain English, the number of positions lost in the unfortunate case of a penalty. When a big drop occurs, one of five things happens to the phase’s position, it: 1. Recovers 2. Partially recovers 3. No recovery (remains static) 4. Continues to dive 5. Vanishes completely I would suggest waiting 48 hours before worrying as results often fluctuate, particularly in competitive, volatile SERPs. If, after 24 hours, you are still concerned then I have to assume there are now four possibilities to consider. First, we consider the positional changes in context, other positional changes covering all the known historic positional data for phrases and their ranking pages at page level, domain level and not to mention the wider SERPs. Always cross reference any positional drop against daily volatility; there are a number of Search Engine Volatility Meters to read when considering the ambient flux and daily volatility around the time of the drop. On our proprietary volatility monitor (See Figure 1),
Figure 1
All Sectors
25 20
15 10
5 0 Feb ‘13
the candlestick chart shows opening and closing volatility as well as daily range (and can be tried out for free in exchange for a tweet or Facebook share). Understanding the norm is vital when forming both an accurate diagnosis and list of well made, future proof plans. Back to the options, and for the sake of sequential consistency we begin with: partial recovery within 48 hours. This would indicate that Google may be continuing to adjust ranking factors. Think: tuning dials on a wall, lots of them. Your positions may yet fully recover, so no need to panic until another two weeks has passed – how does this look against the norm? Ambient fluctuations.
Mar ‘13
Apr ‘13
No recovery: after two weeks it now looks a likely candidate, however, only if the phrase carries a significant, stand out issue, and be notably outside the ambient norm. Otherwise, if there are positional drops across the board, your challenge begins to look more like a lost link; perhaps a powerful link which has recently been removed. Its effects are only now being felt. The next step, for me at least, would be to check the ambient fluctuation at the time of your positional drop and cross reference against other rankings. Always track your links; you should have seen this coming if it was a renewal. Always set alerts for renewals and better still, don’t do link deals that require renewals. Insist on permanent links.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
15
TRAFFIC
My observations have led me to believe… There may be a humanising component to these increasingly specific spam filters, designed with a mysterious unpredictability, which oozes fear, uncertainty and doubt, a vacuum of speculation and absence of predictable certainty. One thing you can be sure of is this: you need to have prepared for this outcome, just to be on the safe side. When you’re playing close to the edge, beware of ‘coastal erosion’; the tide will wash through the defences as, once again, another round of unhappy webmasters are wiped out of Google for over optimising anchor text distribution. In the respect that SEO isn’t a job but a competitive sport, one could argue that if SEO were a competitive sport, it would be an extreme sport with a lot at stake. Many companies, even businesses with old school, traditional values, hinge so much on their search strategy. Often, and almost always within iGaming, due to topheavy traffic distribution, casino, bingo and poker require an SEO to keep pushing to the limit. We’ve seen the various iterations of recent algorithm updates remove countless sites which had enjoyed the previously loose SEO, until the threshold of sensitivity was reduced by the webspam detectors. Organic link deployment, or at least the synthesised organic link deployment, will prevent webspam detectors from identifying your misdemeanours. But what happens if it’s too late? Remain fluid. Be water my friend, as Bruce Lee puts it. What’s plan B, C, D, E and F? SEO at this
16
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
TRAFFIC
level is as much about mitigating risk as it is about buying links; it’s about hedging risk. Multiple sites with distinctly different link strategies will enable you to hedge losses from penalties. Always ensure there’s a series of escape routes from your efforts. Forget about black hat, white hat... there is no ‘hat’; there is only positive and negative return on investment. The ranking continues to dive: this usually occurs as successive algorithm adjustments are applied to the results. Should the listing vanish completely, these symptoms do not bear the hallmark of a granular penalty; this also needs to be viewed in the wider context of your site’s rankings as well as the general daily volatility. Fixing these penalties isn’t as easy as it used to be. 301 redirects work for between three and four weeks and then the penalty catches up. That said, rinsing and repeating a 301 redirect can buy enough time to get another horse in the race, should you not already have this covered off.
Have faith in your strategy If your strategy is sound, you will already have these unfortunate outcomes planned for ahead of time. All possible outcomes need to be planned for when engaging in extreme sports in the same way that offpiste snow boarders learn tricks to enable them to dig their way out of avalanches. Your SEO (when you’re pushing the limits) also requires this kind of attitude. Most SEOs never venture this close to the edge, but the truth of the matter, based on my experience with the biggest names
in many global hyper competitive B2C markets, is that the winners are always those who push the limits.
Trust your instincts Avoid knee jerk reactions. Always hold firm your belief in your tools and your strategy. Never buy into opinion; your instincts will be your best friend as you develop your experience. If you have any specific questions email me directly at paul@mediaskunkworks.com or follow me on http://twitter.com/paulreilly or stalk me on http://foursquare.com/user/ paulreilly
With over 12 years’ experience in Search Engine Optimisation, PAUL REILLY is amongst the most experienced and influential professionals in the industry. With a wealth of experience in highly-competitive sectors, Paul has worked on many of the UK’s largest brands in the toughest spaces, both in-house and at large reputable search marketing agencies. In most recent years Paul has focused and specialised in online gaming, delivering consistent results that matter, time after time. Paul is the founder of MediaSkunkWorks, a new and pioneering service provider which dissects the traditional agency model, building world-class, hand-picked specialist teams either in-house or as outsourced think tank and creative problem solving service. MediaSkunkWorks which has built its reputation on innovation and optimised methodologies that really do deliver results.
TRAFFIC
What Colour ‘Hat’ should iGaming Brands Wear in the US? Most gaming experts will, by now, be aware of the online gambling legislation changes in New Jersey and Nevada. 888 recently became the 20th company awarded a licence in Nevada and could have a product live as soon as May 2013. This article looks to prepare those licence holders, including affiliates, who have acquired the rights to operate in these states and are looking at digital marketing strategies to maximise acquisition. Although there are many arrows to the digital marketing bow, this article focuses on SEO in the gaming sector and the considerations associated with mobile. Stay clear of the black hat Having a top search engine results page (SERP) position is extremely lucrative in any industry, particularly so in the gaming sector. This makes it a significant area of focus for licence holders and affiliates, amplifying the need for professional search engine optimisation management. Historically, the SEO industry has been predominantly ‘black hat’ in its nature; in fact, many gambling sites in Europe have been known to engage in underhand link building tactics. Link pyramid schemes and a mass of links through a network of poor quality sites have been, and still are, common practices. These types of ‘black hat’ techniques have been under major scrutiny from Google for the past few years and have now been recognised as looking to falsely pay and manipulate the ranking algorithms. Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithm updates have since hit sites involved in ‘black hat’ link building tactics, lowering their rank position drastically. In light of the recent algorithm updates, it is therefore essential to follow the right road. An iGaming website needs to be in good standing, follow a best practice approach, effectively link build from authoritative sites, and look to promote ‘socially’ to provide an edge. The key to SEO success is: 1. Great content 2. Create and maintain a site that is built with the user experience in mind
18
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
3. The site needs to add value to the Internet as a whole 4. It should provide insight into current trends through portals such as blogs and videos Therefore, it is vital to have longevity in mind when developing an SEO strategy for the protection and evolution of the overall site’s brand and future reputation.
Don’t forget about social Some elements of iGaming are social in nature, so a domain looking to create a wider SEO footprint should be looking to maximise its interactions via social media, where possible. The doubters will suggest that online players look to remain anonymous, but interestingly, most users will have interacted with some form of social media before making a decision on where to play/bet. Facebook and Twitter are the probably the most vital channels through which to engage with players; not only are they easy to use, ‘Likes’ and ‘Retweets’ are, in fact, proven social SEO signals that build a brand footprint across the web. Reviews are becoming increasingly important for gaming brands, which means reputation management is key. Your engagement/interaction with customers needs to be positive to ensure a brand’s long-term success, but also your SEO rankings.
Another emerging channel in social is Google+. The importance that Google is starting to place on having Google+ strategies, as well as the integration of content authorship, means that having a Google+ page is now a significantly important factor for any site regardless of the industry.
Why consider mobile? Household Penetration Trend (Among Internet Households)
Q1 2013
Tablets
Q4 2012 Smartphones
PCs
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of Households Owning 1 or More
Recent comScore figures show that Smartphone penetration in the US and Europe ticked over 50 percent in December 2012, which means that mobile can no longer be ignored. Additional figures also show that the US household penetration of those owning one or more Smartphones or tablets is seeing continued growth quarteron-quarter, whereas desktop volume continued to decline. These numbers
TRAFFIC
equate to an increase of tablets by nearly 18 million and nearly nine million more Smartphones users.
The confusion It is still somewhat unclear in the SEO industry (and even more established mGaming countries) as to the true importance of mobile-specific link building. There are plenty of technical recommendations out there on how to set up a mobile site, but even this can be divisive as the argument for mobile-specific domains versus responsive design goes on. So, how do you make a mobile-specific domain stand ahead of competitors in the search engine optimisation results?
Mobile link building A varied link profile between desktop and mobile inbound links should be factored into a brand’s mobile SEO strategy. Links from both desktop and mobile sites will be beneficial for getting a mobile site indexed. In fact, research has shown that the overall link profile of a domain can have a positive halo effect on how the mobile version of the site ranks. There are differences in traditional link profiles compared with those of mobile site links. Mobile sites are designed with a smaller screen size in mind. This leaves the site with a smaller area in which to display any links. Mobile websites are designed for the optimal user experience, so linking to
and from other sites needs to be very tightly related to the niche and brand involved. Google ranking factors for mobile search engines indicate that a mobile-specific site will be ranked higher than a responsive design site, if strong mobile-specific offpage factors indicate a quality niche-specific mobile site optimised for mobile users. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that if you were searching on a mobile device, Google would return the most relevant search results back to you, favouring a mobilespecific domain over that of a responsive designed desktop result, if highly related to the search query. SEO strategists looking to optimise for mobile need to consider not only the overall link popularity of a site they want a backlink from, but whether there are mobile-specific elements that will provide greater SEO benefits to the site you want to rank for in the long-term.
The long and winding road The days of ‘black hat’ SEO manipulation are over, and rightly so. The only way forward for a legitimate iGaming business is to provide what the user is searching for, to be confident in your content and products, and to give back to your community by providing insight and valuable knowledge. Engage socially and take advantage of authorship. You should want to be seen as (and actually be) an expert in your industry.
And most of all, think long-term. You don’t want to work hard to build a successful brand in the US iGaming market only to see it wiped out of the search engine results pages (SERPs) in an instant. Risky tactics, which may have worked well in the shortterm, could come back to haunt you. So, why take the gamble?
NEIL FAIRWEATHER is Group Account Director at Latitude Digital Marketing. With over nine years of digital marketing experience, Neil has been influential in the growth of Latitude’s gaming client portfolio. In such a tech-savvy and competitive market, Neil has been able to keep the likes of bet365 and BetVictor informed on advancements within the digital space to ensure they remain as market leaders within their arena. Neil joined Latitude in 2006 and was promoted to Group Account Director in 2012. His current role seems him manage client service teams delivering exceptional results for clients within the gaming, retail, finance and leisure sectors. Neil is an avid gaming blogger and can be found attending and speaking at various gambling industry events in Europe.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
19
TRAFFIC
RESPONSIVE DESIGN FOR SPORTSBETTING SITES Affiliate coach and Editor at Gaffg.com, John Wright, highlights how he is using responsive design to better optimise a new sportsbetting website for its mobile traffic. IN 2013, DESIGN and the user experience has changed a lot. While SEO continues to be a buzz word that many webmasters chase, they are failing to see what is happening in terms of changes not only for SEO but for design and conversion and how all of these relate to each other. This article is more of a case study as I am working on the website for F1-bettings.com and making changes to adjust for some feedback. After gaining some experience in knowing how players are converting on the content, the new designs are reflected in knowing what the users might be interested in based on what they searched for or how they came to the website. The number one reason for changing the website design was mainly due to the amount of traffic coming to the site from mobile phones. F1-bettings.com is a sportsbetting website focused on Formula One. The nature of sports-related sites is they get plenty of mobile traffic. F1-bettings.com is getting over 35 percent of its traffic from mobile sites with about 26 percent of traffic on iPhone devices, ten percent on Android and the rest on Blackberry and Windows Mobile. Talking to other webmasters with websites based
20
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
on sportsbetting, they seem to have a lot of mobile traffic; this is traffic that you should not only be looking to convert, but also ensure doesn’t leave if it arrives on your site and can’t read or navigate it.
F1-bettings.com % of traffic from mobile: 36% % of traffic from iOS: 26% % of traffic from Android: 10%
betnhl.ca % of traffic from mobile: 36% % of traffic from iOS: 25% % of traffic from Android: 10%
e-sportbets.org % of traffic from mobile: 25% % of traffic from iOS: 17% % of traffic from Android: 7% This data is for March 2013 and for the Blackberry fans among you, sadly they didn’t even crack the one percent mark. Windows Mobile had less traffic as well. On F1-bettings.com, the mobile visitors spend less time on the site and the bounce rate was higher. Mobile traffic interested in sportsbetting-related content should, in theory, be easier to convert and is,
therefore, highly valuable. If your site is allowing users to leave without converting, it is enough motivation to consider a redesign of the website, primarily to create a responsive design but also to ensure that regular viewers on their computers are also converting better. So in any redesign process, I like to start by first making notes about what is important for each page as well as having good navigation, then by mapping out the content and creating a wireframe of the site before finally creating the design as PSD files which can then be converted to html/php or any CMS, such as WordPress. The tools I use for the content mapping and wireframing are xmind for creating the sitemap and moqups.com for creating the wireframe. In this case, the mapping of content wasn’t necessarily anything more than trying to understand what is important to the user on the site. What does seem very important and relevant to any fan of Formula One racing is information on when the next race is happening. If they are interested in betting then the design has been set up so that it provides the user with one main choice for a sportsbook. Many sportsbook affiliates tend to work
TRAFFIC
F1-BETTINGS.COM iOS 26% Android 10%
% OF TRAFFIC FROM MOBILE:
% OF TRAFFIC FROM DESKTOP:
with a smaller number of programs so it is all about keeping it simple and making the choice for the user as easy as possible. If you are an affiliate focusing on sportsbetting, your job is to see which programs convert for you and which programs have good feedback showing your stats. The order of items on the homepage starts with the race information and a recommended sportsbook, followed by the latest betting odds and tips. After this comes the most recent news, followed by data on all the races, drivers’ standings, constructors’ standings as well as the latest odds. The next pages that are important for layout are the driver review pages and the listings pages. The listings pages can be used dynamically whether to list sportsbooks, racetracks or drivers. The design features a grid system to present the content in an easy-to-scan way.
Responsive design If this phrase is new to you, here is a quick explanation of what responsive design is. Simply put, you can make your website mobile-friendly by using a responsive design that automatically adjusts based
on your screen size. An easy way to test if a website has responsive design is to just shrink your browser size and see if you can still read the content or not. Mobile versions of websites in the ‘m.website.com’ format are, in theory, not the best for SEO practices, so the design community in 2013 is buzzing over responsive design as the go-to standard for getting your website formatted for mobile.
“An easy way to test if a website has responsive design is to shrink your browser size and see if you can still read the content.” Conclusion The new F1-bettings.com website is being launched at the time of writing this article. Expectations for this new design are to have better conversion for regular computer users, but more importantly to capture and convert the mobile traffic. So, if you have a sportsbetting website, the first thing you should do is check what percentage of your traffic is visiting your site from a mobile device and then compare
36%
64%
the bounce rates. If mobile users account for more than 20 percent of your overall traffic, then check your bounce rates; if they are higher than regular computer visitors then you need to get up-to-date with the latest standards in design and consider having your website converted for responsive design so it is readable and functional on any device – tablet, iPad, iPhone, Android or for those that might be using a Blackberry and refuse to let go. If you are in need of a new design for your portal or need help getting your site converted to responsive design, I can help. JOHN WRIGHT is an affiliate coach and the main editor at Gaffg.com, a site that promotes affiliate programs and offers webmaster tips and articles to help them accelerate their business. John graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduating he pursued a career in professional gambling in 2002 and also playing online casinos and poker. With nearly ten years of experience in the online gambling industry he is now focusing his time and energy into affiliate websites and consulting services.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
21
TRAFFIC
Forex SEM Arabic and Chinese Markets With this issue of iGB Affiliate focusing on financial trading products, SEO, Mike Litson, runs through some localised search marketing principles for forex in the Arabic and Chinese markets. The search landscape The search landscape in the Arabic and Chinese markets is a little different than in those most of the people reading this magazine will be used to, and with the language barrier, they are going to be more than a little daunting. However, when it comes to forex, these are two of the biggest geographic areas to market to. Forex is favourably exempt from laws that make most forms of ‘gambling’ illegal, and in tandem with the fact that these markets are both growing and affluent, it is surely a ‘no brainer’ if you have the resources to enter the markets. Top tip: If you’re a registered and legitimate business, most local universities will have their own ‘job centres’ and are often more than willing to provide native, intelligent translators who will work for a low rate for a chance to learn.
China It’s all about Baidu; there is quite literally no point marketing anywhere else (at least in terms of search – Weibo is an amazing traffic driver in social). Remember most gambling traffic is censored, forex is not. China’s web penetration grew by ten percent last year, but it is still only at 42.1
22
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
percent of the population, which still offers significant opportunities for growth. 14 percent of the world’s population has Mandarin as its first language and whilst the percentage of Chinese content has grown dramatically in the last year, it still has a better ratio of speakers-tocontent than English.
“Forex is favourably exempt from laws that make most forms of ‘gambling’ illegal.” The Arabic states Whilst the usual suspects rule the roost in the Arabic states (it swings more heavily in Google’s favour than usual), there are once again some censorship issues with gambling in some regions. Again, this shouldn’t apply to forex. It’s also important to note that only three percent of the web’s content is in Arabic (according to Google – Q4 2012), yet Arabic speakers make up five percent of the global population.
The actual SEO Baidu Baidu is still very different to Google and remains ‘spammier’ in terms of what you can get away with (at the time of writing);
this does not mean that you will succeed long-term, but Baidu is largely based around quantity-over-quality in terms of links, and exact match anchor text is still a goer. Top tip: Use a different website for Baidu optimisation; there’s a lot you’ll need to do that you won’t want Google to associate with your other site(s). The other key point would be that running a PPC campaign seems almost essential, whilst there is unlikely to be official confirmation that Baidu favours websites that are also paying for PPC, there does seem to be a very strong correlation between rankings and PPC spend; we noticed drastic changes relating to turning PPC on and off. But, comparatively, PPC is a lot more affordable in China, albeit rather difficult to set up. Generally speaking, it’s best to work with one of Baidu’s partner agencies in Hong Kong to set this up, I’d recommend Baidu.com.hk – you should be able to do this with Forex without too much difficulty although you will need to provide various documentation.
Ten key points on Baidu ●●Keywords ●●Quantity
still count of links is king
TRAFFIC
●●Keyword
anchors still work integration is about Weibo and Baidu Share ●●Constant link growth is important ●●Use PinYin in the URL (it’s just better for users) ●●Content length should be about 1,000 words (as a rule of thumb) ●●CTR is even more important ●●Internal linking from content is liked ●●You need to use Baidu Webmaster Tools (zhanzhang.baidu.com) ●●Social
Google (Arabic) You may be wondering in what way Google is hugely different in the Arabic markets… the answer is ‘not drastically’. Whilst the algorithm updates may go live at different times and may not always be as effective, the fact is it is still the same search engine. But, the way you market
should be different, assuming that you’re trying to generate something of quality and not just creating short-lived spam sites to exploit the fact that there is less competition in the market.
The key differences ●●There
are several Arabic dialects; as such you will need to target markets separately, but be very mindful of potential duplication issues ●●Arabic URLs can get very messy, be careful to make sure that they are usable ●●Arabic domains are available but make sure you use a proper translator before buying one ●●Mobile is very important, 58 percent of users say they use their mobiles for the Internet even when at home ●●Keywords – this is a given, but
remember straight translation is not always the way. Make sure a native does your keyword research
Mike Litson has been in Search Engine Optimisation for several years and specialises in competitive markets, predominantly iGaming. Having worked with many major players in the sector he has a solid understanding of what goes into making a successful campaign, both on and off site. Focusing mainly on SEO, Mike is also very well versed in SMO, PPC, Affiliate Management and Email Marketing believing that none of the skills are mutually exclusive and that having strong knowledge across online marketing channels can provide unique opportunities. Mike currently heads up the Blueclaw iGaming and affiliate department.
NEW REPORT OUT NOW! Social Marketing & Strategies Effective implementation and measurements for iGaming Key Features ■ Learn about all the key networks, their audiences, how they work and what they mean for your betting and gaming business ■ Review case studies of operators and af�iliates already making a difference in the social media space
■ Analyse best practice marketing methods across all networks, including measurement ■ Identify the best technology support for your business from maximizing Facebook’s Edgerank to seamlessly managing social based acquisition CRM
■ Learn how to monitor and manage your brand online, and to identify and use your in�luencers as your sales team ■ Understand how social media is changing SEO and PPC, and ensure your brand makes the move from search to discoverability
Ask for your free executive summary today quote 12JSocial35 and email reports@iGamingBusiness.com Call +44 (0) 207 954 3489 to order your copy of iGB Social Marketing report today
www.iGamingBusiness.com iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
23
SPECIAL REPORT – FINANCIAL TRADING
THE FUTURE OF AFFILIATION
The online world is exciting and fast moving. For affiliates, that grants you a rich stream of potential and opportunity, but on the flip side, it means that the easiest way to fall behind is to do exactly what you were doing before. You need to stay ahead of the game. This special edition is designed for exactly that purpose, so sit up straight and take note of how to maximise your profits from the latest, profitable affiliate trend: financial affiliation. Oren Laurent, President of Banc De Binary, leads our special report on financial trading by offering a crash course for affiliates. What is financial affiliation? If you mix in affiliate circles or have attended trade shows in the last couple of years, you will almost certainly have heard of financial affiliation; but have you taken the plunge yet? This area is the most promising new affiliate opportunity, consisting of two key products: forex and binary options. The former, foreign exchange, is a more complex way of leveraging the currency markets, but correct speculation can bring impressively high profits for the trader. The latter, binary options, is a simplified form of financial trading whereby the investor receives a payout for predicting if an asset will move up or down in a set time.
traffic. And given that this is a relatively new and uncluttered market, there is a huge amount of potential traffic out there. Traffic, of course, equates to increased revenue. To succeed, you simply have to adapt to a different product. This involves
“The highlight for an affiliate is that the skill-sets required to be successful in financial affiliation are the same skill-sets that you already have from being a casino or sportsbetting affiliate.” being aware of the advantages of financial trading, working with firms to offer potential traders great educational resources and sign-up promotions, and most importantly, adjusting to the appropriate target audience.
Same but different The highlight for an affiliate is that the skill-sets required to be successful in financial affiliation are the same skillsets that you already have from being a casino or sportsbetting affiliate, for example. Forex and binary options are online worlds. If you excel at SEO, website building, PPC, or email marketing, then you know intrinsically what to do to drive
24
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
demand for the product comes from experienced traders, people looking to make a side income from the comfort of their own home, and also those who enjoy the thrill of the trade. Already, you’ll see that there is a great overlap
with the target audience in other affiliate industries. This is an overlap that affiliates can fruitfully and very easily take advantage of by engaging their existing contacts and leads.
Key messages Consider binary options The audience According to Google statistics for users and search queries, the audience is 77 percent male. Binary options appeal to a young audience, between the ages of 25 and 40, and are also popular with the 60plus age range. In addition, we know from years of engaging with our customers that
It’s simple: will an asset move up or down? Beginners love how easy binary option trading is, as do those who may have struggled with more complicated investment vehicles or forex trading, or those who are looking for a straightforward way to hedge their positions elsewhere. The principle is simple, as is the trading platform itself.
SPECIAL REPORT – FINANCIAL TRADING
“We know from years of engaging with our customers that demand for the product comes from experienced traders, people looking to make a side income from the comfort of their own home, and also those who enjoy the thrill of the trade.” It’s profitable: we’re talking around 80 percent profit for a correct trade. Invest €100 and the return for correctly predicting that gold will rise by the end of the day is typically €80 plus the original €100. Profit margins can even increase up to 500 percent on certain trading platforms, such as the One Touch platform. Returns for both a win and loss are known in advance of the trade so there are no surprises and risk can be managed effectively. It’s fun: this is an easy message for affiliates to forget, but is vital to remember. For our clients, binary option trading is not just about making money; clients really enjoy it. The more experienced investors like following the news and analysing the markets, while those joining from the gaming world can make educated decisions but still have all the excitement of a short sixty second or hour-long trade. It’s regulated: firms can now obtain licences for offering a financial product, which gives traders an unprecedented level of security. Banc De Binary is very proud to be the only EU-regulated binary
options brokerage and is authorised by the FSA, BaFIN and the Banque de France, amongst other authorities.
Promotions As good as the product is, your traffic is always going to need a little encouragement. Before affiliating with a binary options firm, make sure that they can offer great promotions that will persuade your clicks to convert to leads.
Bonuses It is fairly standard for binary options firms to offer deposit bonuses to clients, but they vary on how much, with some of the bigger firms giving impressive 100 percent bonuses for sign-ups. This means they will double the deposit in the trader’s account, normally in exchange for a longterm trading commitment. It also means very effective landing pages.
Gifts Firms that offer loyalty rewards and gifts are those willing to go the extra mile. These can include prizes from air miles to tablets and Smartphones (with selected
companies), and traders can then enjoy mobile trading applications when they’re on the go. For affiliates, these types of promotions make a very positive impact in an email blast or mobile campaign.
Trading signals No trader will turn away complementary trading signals, and this service can be extremely profitable and reassuring for potential sign-ups. Check that a brokerage has qualified brokers and financial analysts on hand for their top clients. Beginners appreciate the guidance, and experts will be able to use signals in addition to conducting their own analysis.
Demo accounts Remember that this is a new and booming market. Even life-long investors may never have traded binary options before. Will a client be left in the dark or will they be given a demo account to practice with? It is always best to perfect trading techniques before risking real money. Does the firm offer free demo accounts? How much? And is it for an unlimited time? Visitors to your site will want to know.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
25
iGAMING IS THE
NEW FRONTIER.
RIDE INTO THE
FUTURE AT G2E. SEPTEMBER 23-26, 2013 THE SANDS EXPO & CONVENTION CENTER | LAS VEGAS, NEVADA EXHIBITS: SEPTEMBER 24-26 • CONFERENCES: SEPTEMBER 23-26
WE’VE CROSSED THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND THERE’S NO TURNING BACK: BE PREPARED TO TAKE ON iGAMING. G2E’s hard-hitting strategies, essential education and unparalleled networking arm you with advantageous insight as you navigate through the iGaming landscape. Come to G2E to get the powerful edge you need to take the future by storm. For more information and to register: www.globalgamingexpo.com/ad
Special Report – Financial Trading
Insider Trading The Forex Market
For affiliates looking to develop new converting traffic streams as well as find new ways to convert existing custom, forex is a good fit, writes Frank Watson, CEO of Kangamurra Media and former SEM at FXCM. Every person involved in affiliate marketing is always looking for other ways to monetise their traffic. In the gaming space, it is difficult to find an offering that compares in payouts to the industry itself, so most affiliates work their traffic through the various gaming programs. Some may have other revenue generators like books and handicapping services, but it is rare for them to sell other products. Don’t get me wrong, the really successful affiliates know the secrets. They set up sites that allow them a broader audience and the ability to sell a wider range of products. To broaden your reach you need to understand your visitors; they have the type of personality that enjoys gambling along with other traits that can be included in your site’s content. Just as you look for places to harvest traffic beyond search engines, you can create content yourself around these interests – after all, you are looking to establish a site that caters to their lifestyle. If you require insights into what topics to build your site content around, you can look at what other sites are doing, or try testing some traffic-buys from RTB (real time bidding) ad exchanges. There is one space that offers a large amount of content development and one that has proven to work well with gaming traffic – forex – the foreign exchange trading space. It does not take away from conversions to the gaming offerings and it can pay as much, if not more, than the gaming programs. There is the need to invest some time learning the space, but there are plenty of sites out there that can help and while you
learn you can develop content that then educates your own traffic. Another plus is the broad nature of the information (and thus numerous pages you can generate) within the forex industry.
AUD, NZD, JPY, CHF, CAD – there are many others that can be traded so there are hundreds of pages just on the individual currencies of the world. Currency trading has been the domain of banks and large
“If you are looking for another way to convert existing traffic and email lists, or to bring traffic to your site with multiple conversion options, then forex is a good fit.” The fundamentals For those who do not know what forex or currency trading is, it is basically spread betting on the changes in exchange rates between a currency pair. For example, if you think the Euro will drop against the US dollar, you buy options at a specific exchange rate and then sell them after they rise in value. It is not hard currency, so you are not sitting at home with a pile of Euros waiting for the rate to change. It is done through an electronic online exchange. There is a lot more to it, but you need to learn it and this article would need more space than this entire edition could cover. So I will cover a few areas that will start you in the right direction and give you a glimpse in to the unlimited potential of the content you can create that can bring independent traffic to your site that can then be converted – both to a forex program, as well as your gaming products. So we have established forex trading is about currency pairs and as such can mean any two of the hundreds of global currencies – Euro-USD, Yen-USD, YenEuro, etc. Each pair offers individual content information to build out pages. While most trading is done on what are called the ‘majors’ – EUR, USD, GBP,
corporations for centuries and it has only been since the creation of the web that people had the ability to trade on a retail level, so you need to educate people about how to trade. There are a number of different platforms and methods of trading in this space which offer different affiliate options – so you can simply start with one and then grow the site and add more. The major platforms to start looking at are: ●●The basic trading platform run by online brokers ●●The MetaTrader platform that works with a broker’s platform but has EAs (Expert Advisors) that generate trading signals ●●Spot trading platforms – this one is much like the pull of a slot machine where you select a pair and predict ‘up’ or ‘down’ and by what margin over a set amount of time ●●Micro trading platform – works like basic platform but offers lower entry point All of these allow for the opportunity of affiliate programs; just do a quick search for any of the major brokers. Like gaming opportunities, you can go for the quick payout – brokers pay for demo sign-ups
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
27
Special Report – Financial Trading
similar to payment for play money sign-ups or become an IB (Introducing Broker) for the market maker (i.e. the actual broker) and get paid a margin of the trades made.
Localised markets and exchange rates Like the gaming industry, the forex space is regulated by country and there are major firms that operate globally, as well as smaller companies that stick to specific countries. Some countries prove harder demographic markets to convert to real money traders – the Middle East being one area – while others convert quicker – the United States and Japan being two. Interestingly, countries in Europe and Asia understand currency trading quicker than the US; they have a history of having to keep multiple currencies when travelling and are quicker to grasp the concepts, so multilingual sites are a good option. The positive of the English-language sites are that they can also be used to prep lists for when the US finally starts to legally open online gaming and allow you a way to legally monetise US traffic that finds its way to your gaming sites. Exchange rates change for various reasons and traders are always on the lookout for information to better educate themselves on successful trading. Unemployment numbers, business trade information, economic activities and many other influences impact the relationship of currency pairs. The recent economic problems in Greece and other European countries lowered the
28
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
exchange rate of the Euro against other global currencies. When the Dow (Jones) drops, the US dollar can fall against other currencies. So offering insights and ways to track this can give youcontent ideas. Building out sections of your site around this information will bring you traffic and offer a wide selection of long-tail terms to rank for. Building social media pages and followers, just like in the gaming space, can build your marketing lists. Look for Twitter accounts that mention forex, currency pairs, etc, and start reaching out to their followers. LinkedIn has proved to be a good source for cheap PPC. You can also use the search engines for paid search for long-tail terms that are relatively inexpensive and they could be converted to gaming offerings deeper in the site. Obviously, you have to position the ads with the forex content – I would initially not tie-in gaming but once established, you could introduce banner ads to these pages. But the lists can be used. Using the confirmation pages to cross promote one to the other should be done. Many of the forex brokers offer competitions which you can use to attract traffic. In Japan, they even give away cars for demo trading competition winners. But regardless of the competitions, the brokers offer a lot of support to affiliates in the way of educational content, and like any smart affiliate knows – rewrite and make this information uniquely yours.
A new conversion option If you are looking for another way to convert existing traffic and email lists, forex is a great fit. If you are looking for other ways to bring traffic to your site with multiple conversion options, forex is a good fit. The forex industry is still young so it also offers the benefit of early adopters. The affiliate space has been slow to be adopted by the forex brokers but there has been a push over the past few years, so getting started now will allow you to develop relationships with the companies that, in many cases, will be closer than the larger programs in the gaming space. There are significantly less affiliates in the forex industry and so advertising and search placement is less competitive – but only for now. So get into the game. Frank Watson is CEO of Kangamurra Media and has been involved with the web since it started. For five years, he headed SEM for FXCM, which was once one of the top 25 spenders with AdWords. He’s worked with most of the major analytics companies and pioneered the ability to tie online marketing with offline conversion. He has now started his own marketing agency, Kangamurra Media. This new venture will keep him busy when he’s not editing the Search Engine Watch forums, blogging at a number of authoritative sites, or developing some online community sites. Frank was one of the first 100 AdWords professionals, as well as a Yahoo! and Overture ambassador. He is on the Click Quality Council and has worked to diminish click fraud.
SPECIAL REPORT – FINANCIAL TRADING
GET LOCAL OR GO HOME A strategy for winning in the global binary options market, by Shahar Attias, CEO of Hybrid Interaction. KEYWORDS, KEYWORDS, KEYWORDS; they’ve become an obsession for a lot of businesses. But build your strategy on keywords alone in your binary options operation, and you’re likely to suffer.
Here’s why Affiliates work hard to find the right keywords to earn high rankings in search results, and operators are benefiting from their efforts, but so are all of the other operators who have paid affiliates to line up customers for them. So, now you’ve got this mass of people to be divided among operators. For simplicity’s sake, let’s just compare one company, ‘Smooth Operator’, with a less savvy outfit. We’ll call the competition ‘Dense Operator’. Like both groups, Dense Operator gets potential customers from all over the world. But to simplify once again, let’s concentrate on how they each treat potential customers from the UK, the United States and France. Dense is dense, but not so dense as to realise that French people speak French and English people and Americans both speak English. So, Dense has its Englishlanguage site translated to French and steers French-based leads to that site. Then Dense sits back and waits for the money to come in from all these great leads it got from the affiliate’s keyword work. Of course, the other group, Smooth, also has the French version of its site, but it knows there are differences between the English and American versions of English: what’s spelled as ‘colour’ on the English site is spelled ‘color’ on the American
32
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
one. Subtle? Sure. But we’re just getting warmed up. Throughout the versions offered by the Smooth Operator group, currency references have been translated to reflect the denomination of the country. Americans won’t want to be confused when they see a reference to pounds and some awkward way of converting that amount into dollars. The support operations are also designed to address the differences between the countries, even if they’re not physically located in each spot. But because the sites are so well constructed – put together with the assistance of natives of each country to avoid any awkward cultural faux pas – there isn’t a huge need for customers to contact the support team. Back on Dense’s site, the group is inviting customers to judge whether the stock of Apple and other global brands is going to go up or down. Smooth’s group has all of the same brands, but in France, it has companies listed that only the French know about. In the United States – a sprawling country with major corporations sprinkled throughout its cities – Smooth has even adjusted what customers see based on their location. For its desktop version, the customers’ IP addresses clue the servers in on where they’re based. For the mobile version, the GPS data from Smartphones locks in on their location. If the customer is located in Ohio, the desktop or phone might show Procter & Gamble; if the customer is in Portland, Oregon, the screens might show Nike. (This is connected to a new business trend called SoLoMo, which emphasises the importance
of tailoring your marketing to the local needs and interests of customers, many of whom are tethered to their mobile devices.)
So what’s going on here? Put succinctly, Smooth has figured out how to localise its offerings to its customers. Dense is only thinking of migrating the leads from the affiliates to its sites with very little distinction among those sites. This resembles, in part, the ‘long-tail’ keyword phenomenon, in which companies that can refine their SEO practices to attract customers others have forgotten about, will do well. The distinction here is that the separation doesn’t occur in finding the customers to begin with, but rather on how they are handled once they’ve arrived. And with millions of potential customers in each separate country, we’re not talking about the very tip of a tail, but the middle portion, or better. Find out how to ensure your operation is landing there with your binary options site and you’re likely to do very well.
SHAHAR ATTIAS, the Founder and CEO of Hybrid Interaction Ltd., is a globally recognised Retention Marketing and Loyalty expert and the blogger behind iGamingCRM.com. He is a frequent speaker at iGaming conferences and has a deep understanding of all verticalspecific KPIs in the online gambling industry, as well as extensive experience in forex and binary options, and recent case studies with applying player development strategies for casino-style gaming applications on Facebook.
Looking for a partner?
We don’t hire shady account managers. In fact, our team is among the most professional, experienced and friendly in the industry. And not a bad-looking bunch, either. Learn more at: europartners.com
SPECIAL REPORT – FINANCIAL TRADING
FIGHTING THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
For many affiliates, the fear of the unknown will prove a barrier to their expansion into new areas of potential revenue, such as financial trading products. iGB Affiliate spoke to Peter Wiersma, Affiliate Director at UFX Affiliates, about the distinctions that separate the forex and gaming industries. Firstly, what prompted you to make the switch to the world of forex affiliation? I remember the beginning of it a few years ago. Everyone was saying that “this is another scam niche market”. Having worked for several years with scratch cards, I remember everyone saying the same about scratch cards. I love to prove people wrong. What is the one great advantage of adding forex to one’s list of affiliate products? The opportunities. It’s still a new industry and that brings many opportunities with it. I mean, try to rank first on Google with ‘online casino’. It would be crazy to achieve that these days. With forex, there are still many opportunities, although I do understand that it’s hard to step out of your comfort zone. What are some of the noticeable differences between the two industries? The value is the biggest difference. Sometimes I say that the biggest difference is the opinion of your wife. If I came home and told my wife that I spent $5,000 at a casino, she would kick me out of the house. If I came home and told my wife that I just invested $5,000 in forex, she would be much more understanding. In forex, you are investing, not gambling. That’s the main difference. Why do you think many affiliates are afraid to work with forex affiliate programs? The most common complaint I receive is, “I tried it but it didn’t convert”. Instead of backing down, I see this as an opportunity. It almost always turns out that it didn’t convert because the affiliates put it at the back of their casino website. It always makes me laugh when I hear this. “Of course it doesn’t convert,” I then say. “If I promoted a casino product on a flower website, it wouldn’t convert.” Forex is not
34
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
casino and casino is not forex. The concept is similar but it attracts a different target group. I usually suggest that affiliates try forex out by building a forex website. Just build a few sites that are completely forex oriented and try it. You will see that it converts. Still, many affiliates are afraid of the unknown, that they don’t know anything about Forex. You mentioned the fear of the unknown, why do you think so many affiliates have this fear? I think it’s human nature to fear the unknown, and since affiliates are (mostly) human, it’s perfectly logical that they do as well. And I can completely understand their perspective. If you’ve been promoting casinos and games for many years, it’s a big switch to suddenly promote the financial industry. Most affiliates understand their players; for them it’s about fun, excitement and entertainment, but there is no fun writing about the recession in Greece and Cyprus. For the real traders, this is really interesting and they see it as an opportunity. For an affiliate, what are the key advantages to promoting Forex? Money. The payout is much higher and the value of a trader is about ten times that of a casino player. The threshold is a bit higher than with the casino industry as the investments are usually much larger and therefore the conversions are a bit lower than in the casino industry. The bottom line is that it’s all about the money. You mentioned that forex attracts a completely different target group than casino, so why would a forex company focus on casino affiliates? It’s true that the target group is totally different, but there are actually many
similarities. In fact, it’s not so much that the target group is different, but that the perception of the product is different. Most gamers try to make money and some do, but they are always aware that they’re more likely to lose. Besides that, it’s also fun to play and, for some good players, even to show off. Forex is only based on making money. Studying the market: what’s going on in Italy; was the right president elected? What about Cyprus? What will this do to the Euro/Dollar? Should I buy gold now? Forex traders can predict a trend where casino players can’t. I usually compare it with betting. For example, if Milan has to play against Leeds United, I know where I’ll put my money. Would betting traffic work with Forex? There are many similarities, but I think it would convert better with a binary product. I think that the complexity of forex platforms would scare most players off. I think that this is also the biggest challenge for most forex companies, to explain their product to their leads. Companies like EasyForex, Etoro and UFXMarkets are doing a good job with that, as their platforms are easy to understand and you can start instantly, without even studying the platform. So what should affiliates watch out for when they’re searching for a forex company? Since forex traffic is hard to convert by itself, you should always choose a forex company with an in-house sales desk for your specific market. Then, I would start selecting the companies that have a good affiliate program. And then the last step is obviously the response time, the payout structures, and the quality of the customer service.
Special RepoRt – Financial tRading
KEEPING YOUR OPTIONS OPEN In order to gain further insight into the world of binary options trading for affiliates, iGB Affiliate spoke to Emma Morris, Affiliate Program Director at 24Option. Firstly, could you provide a brief overview of the types of financial trading options that affiliates can currently promote, such as forex, binary options and stock options, and the differences between how they work. At 24Option, there are three types of binary options: boundary, high-low and touch options. So, traders can predict whether, for example, the market share will rise or fall. These are what we call high-low binary options. And boundary options are then if you stay ‘in’ or ‘out’ of a predetermined range. Touch options are if you reach (or fail to reach) a set market price. We cover the forex market, commodities, indices and stocks and for all of the stock trades, we’ve selected the most traded assets in Europe, US, Asia and Australia in order to meet the growing demand of our global traders. In terms of educating affiliates as to the ins and outs of financial trading, what advice would you offer so that they avoid the common pitfalls and are able to reap the perceived benefits? In order to avoid the common pitfalls, first of all we run a full educational program. It helps the affiliate and takes them through the complete process – we are equipped with the skill to support beginner affiliates with
36
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
no financial background at all and those with prior knowledge of the industry. I run a team of 17 affiliate managers and all of our affiliate managers have the expertise to deal with affiliates from many different sectors. Affiliates also have access to our support and systems through phone, email and online chat 24/7.
“We put a lot into our affiliate program. Up to 60 percent of the traffic that comes into the company is via affiliate channels.” We run an education programme for the traders and a lot of affiliates who work with us actually also trade themselves, so they review this full program. We work very closely with our sales team and we’re constantly working to ensure all their needs are consistently met. What we offer is performance-based marketing so there are very few pitfalls. The message I send to our affiliates is that if you drive quality traffic our way, we’ll convert it with the best conversion rates in the industry. More broadly, what advice would you give to gaming affiliates who are looking at the sector – what
are the key things that they need to understand about financial trading in order to promote it effectively? First of all, there are certain similarities between the sectors (gaming and financial trading). We offer fast-paced trading which caters for novice traders to educated and experienced traders. It’s an opportunity for gaming affiliates to offer something new to their clients. We’ve seen a lot of interest coming from the gaming sector; they want something new to provide to their clients and binary options trading works – it’s a new alternative for their clients. Why do you think that online gaming affiliates, specifically, would be suited to promoting financial trading products? Online gaming reaches out to the mass market, as does binary options trading. So, they’re both similar in that way. Financial companies are becoming more online orientated rather than conservative and so the two sectors tend to work from the same base. 50 percent of affiliates would actually hail from the forex industry, but then we’re seeing natural interest coming from casino and poker sites. The players apply their skills (statistics and analytics) to binary options trading. As of yet, crossover from sportsbetting hasn’t been that high – the
Special Report – Financial Trading
majority of the interest has been from the poker casino side of things. We tend to focus in finance, forex and gaming. They are our main sectors. How long has 24Option been operating? We’ve been around since 2010 and the company has gone from strength to strength. We now have over 200 staff and we are growing by the day – we’re constantly recruiting in both sales and marketing. We have the largest affiliate program in the industry, with a team of 17 affiliate managers and we provide language support in English, French, Italian, Japanese, German and Russian in the affiliate team alone. So, watch this space as we grow. And how many affiliates do you have on your roster at present? We currently have a portfolio of about just over 10,000 affiliates. But we’re very active in recruitment and the program is growing at an incredible rate. And how important a role do you see the affiliate sector playing in your ability to generate new business in the future? Do you see it as a key asset for 24Option? Absolutely, we put a lot into our affiliate program. Up to 60 percent of the traffic that comes into the company is via affiliate
channels, and it’s very important for us to go into different markets and into different industries and grow consistently, bringing in new affiliates. We’re looking for affiliates that want to join us and work long-term. Even if they’re coming from a different sector, we will give them full support so they can promote binary options to the best of their capabilities. What are the specific benefits of becoming a 24Option affiliate, in terms of commission structure, marketing tools and support? We currently work on a CPA structure and we offer a very attractive commission plan, and we have affiliates who are turning some high profits. We also work on CPL (cost per lifetime) deals. In terms of marketing support, we actually have an in-house studio where we create all of our marketing materials. Every month we’re designing new creatives and new campaigns that are specific to each market. And, within the platform itself, within the affiliate accounts, you can see this whole collection of marketing materials. When the affiliate signs up, they are contacted by their affiliate manager straight away and discuss a campaign and decide on which materials to use. Affiliates are in good hands.
How competitive is the financial trading market at present, and where do you believe the company is, in terms of market share? It’s extremely competitive at the moment, and 24Option is currently at the top of the pyramid due to credibility and our outstanding payments. We’re dominating the market and I believe that you’ll hear a lot more from us in the next year. Finally, what would be your lasting message to affiliates in the gaming space that are looking at financial trading as a new platform for them to promote? That the binary options market is at an all-time high. There has been an increased interest coming from the gaming sector; they’re looking for a new brand to promote and something new for their clients. Also, the gaming industry has become somewhat saturated over the last two to three years and binary options trading is the perfect solution when looking for a new niche. It’s new, it’s exciting and it’s going places. We attended LAC 2013 in London, and I have seen such an increase in interest between 2012 and 2013. Where 24Option is concerned, we’re looking for long-term partnerships and affiliates can be assured that, on joining the platform, we’ll take care of you.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
37
1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1
0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 SPECIAL 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 – FINANCIAL 0 0 REPORT 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 TRADING 1 01 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0
1 0 1 0 1 0
UNLOCKING THE BINARY CODE
0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1
0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1
How to test if binary options affiliate marketing is for you, by Frank Ravanelli, a consultant in the binary options and forex sector. BINARY OPTIONS TRADING is the next big thing in the investment and monetary entertainment world. Affiliates are moving fast into this growing vertical, which offers substantial rewards: standard CPAs range from $100 to $300, while revenue sharing plans currently offer between ten and 30 percent. Binary options allow traders to profit when they correctly predict if a stock/ currency/commodity will go up or down. The time-frame for the prediction usually varies from 60 seconds to one week. Before accepting a trade, the trader knows the length, potential loss and return on investment available. Here, I will explain how you can test to see whether your existing traffic converts well with binary options, and how to build new traffic streams optimised to attract binary options traders.
Before you start: sell the benefits When testing your existing traffic, or creating new traffic streams, remember what matters to your audience. Most potential traders want: ●●investment options with no hidden fees: binary options are much more transparent than many alternative investments, where brokers often eat the traders’ profits with various fees and clauses buried in their T&Cs. ●●to know, before accepting a trade, what to expect from their investment: timeframe, potential loss and profits. Binary options offer all of these. ●●to feel safe: the major binary options sites are licensed by CySec, or at least have a high-profile which forces them to honour their commitments.
Testing your existing traffic If you already have traffic sources, you can proceed as follows.
38
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
1) Forex: conversion into instant options (one hour or less) traders is not high. Forex traders are quite sophisticated and informed. They tend to base their decisions on analysing fundamentals and technical aspects of a given asset. For these reasons, they usually prefer to hold assets for one day or more, unless their analysis tells them to sell promptly or in case there are arbitrage opportunities.
site, the bigger the sample you need. Send them a mailer geared towards binary options services, and to the rest of your database, you can send a mailer promoting the products you usually review. After one day, and then again after one week, compare the KPIs: opening rate, CTR, conversion, and overall dollar amount generated. Prorate such indicators, to reflect the ratio between the subscribers
“By entering the binary options vertical now, you can benefit from the size of the existing market, and the lower competition when compared with the traditional gaming verticals.” However, binary options traded for one day up to one week can be a valuable instrument for forex traders to hedge their current positions, so they can take advantage of short-term movements without selling their longerterm investments. 2) Gaming: gaming traffic converts well with binary options. Instant options (lasting one hour or less) attract people with high-propensity to risk. Binary options lasting longer tend to attract traders who understand the financial markets, but they do not want to spend too much of their time digging financial data and trends, see binary options as a fast, transparent and intuitive way to take advantage of the market’s short-term movements, without buying traditional assets. They are aware that, in these tough financial times, with high-volatility and uncertainties, it is easier to assess fees for binary options than for other investment options. 3) Opt-in newsletters: these are an A/B testing heaven. You can randomly select a percentage of your subscribers, ranging from 20 to 60 percent; the smaller the
who received the binary option mailer and the ones who received the regular mailer and decide how effective and profitable is to keep promoting binary options.
Creating new traffic sources 1) Post-Penguin content plus SEO: Google Penguin is a Google algorithm launched in April 2012, shaking established SEOpractices and link-building techniques. To attract binary traders, you can leverage the following: ●●A relevant domain name: it should contain binary options keywords, plus the ccTLD you are focusing with your content (‘.com’, ‘.co.uk’, ‘.it’, etc) ●●On-site optimisation: build content for people, not just for search engines. Google is increasingly mimicking natural reading patterns, and not just the plain-vanilla fuzzy logic algorithms. A review of binary options platforms and brokers are a good way to start. You can also create a ‘Binary Options 101 Guide’, dedicating one page to each key term ●●Off-site optimisation: create nonreciprocal links from selected sites
1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0
SPECIAL REPORT – FINANCIAL TRADING
which are in your niche and in relevant sections of general content sites. Do not build incoming links from unrelated sites, even when they have high Google PR; this is often identified by Google as ‘link spamming’ ●●Web PR: this does not necessarily get your coverage in offline media. However, it is a good source of trustworthy incoming links. Google is aware that news spreads fast, so when a press release is spreading fast on blogs, etc, this sudden spike in incoming links isn’t usually considered suspicious ●●Guest-posting: plus relevant forum and communities 2) Brokers’ comparison sites: on your homepage, create a simple chart where you list brokers’ names, served markets, languages, offers, and the
like, and create a detailed description that you post on a specific page, one page per broker. 3) PPC, social media and apps: be where potential traders already are. The days of ‘build it, and they will come’ are long gone. Mix your existing assets with new ones, and put third-party tools to work for you. Again, A/B testing is a must. Compare which binary options brokers convert better, in terms of traders and overall affiliate commission. By entering the binary options vertical now, you can benefit from the good size of the existing market, and the lower competition when compared with the traditional gaming verticals. Plus, you can help in shaping the industry. Think about your favourite gaming sites. You can build something similar: the next genuine
watchdog, or a leading newsletter with daily updates. The financial world is fastpaced and never sleeps – you will always have well-converting topics and fresh perspectives to offer to your audience.
FRANK RAVANELLI is a seasoned senior manager within iGaming, and a successful binary options/ forex consultant. His focus is on results-oriented, quantifiable and actionable affiliate marketing, SEO, content optimisation, social media, client acquisition strategies and loyalty programs. You can contact him on frank@ravanelli.com.
TAILORED TAILORED MODULAR MODULAR OPEN OPEN GAMING GAMING PLATFORM PLATFORM
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
39
SPECIAL REPORT – FINANCIAL TRADING
FINANCIAL TRADING AS A FORM OF GAMBLING By Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies at the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University. ONE OF THE questions I am most asked by my students, and the media alike, is whether trading on the stock market is a genuine form of gambling. That might sound a simple question, but it all comes down to what definition of ‘gambling’ you are using. My own view on gambling is that it boils down to the staking of money (or something of financial value) on a future event. When I first started my research into gambling back in the mid-1980s, there were four fundamental types of gambling: 1. Gaming: staking money during a game (e.g. slot machines, roulette, blackjack, etc) 2. Betting: staking money on a future event, typically sports events (e.g. horserace betting, greyhound betting, football betting, etc) 3. Lotteries: the distribution of money by lot (e.g. National Lottery) 4. Speculation: staking money on stock markets (e.g., investment in shares, day trading, etc) Back in the 1980s, psychologists were only interested in studying the first three of these activities (i.e., gaming, betting and lotteries). Although a few academics accepted ‘speculation’ as a true form of gambling, the majority of researchers in the gambling studies field did not (including me). The prevailing view at the time was that ‘speculation’ was viewed as involving a fair amount of skill and/ or relied on ‘insider information’ and, therefore, was not a legitimate form of gambling compared to other forms of gambling. Although there were clearly accepted forms of gambling that had skilful elements (e.g., poker, blackjack), academic
40
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
psychologists still rejected ‘speculation’ as a form of gambling worth investigating. However, this all changed after the introduction of spread betting. I argued in a number of articles at the end of the 1990s that spread betting had taken the mechanics of stock market trading and applied it to sporting events. For me, this was a game changer in terms of studying the psychology of gambling. No longer could we say that speculation shouldn’t be studied because spread betting was clearly a form of speculation, and it was something that appealed to a new type of gambler because it involved sporting events that many people think they know a lot about. There was also one other key factor in changing psychologists’ perceptions of speculation as gambling: the ‘Nick Leeson effect’. In 1995, Leeson single-handedly brought down the UK’s oldest investment bank (Barings). Leeson was a derivatives broker whose fraudulent gambling caused the spectacular collapse of one of the UK’s most established financial institutions. From the early 1990s, Leeson made countless speculative (and unauthorised) gambles on the stock market that at first made large profits for his employers. However, as with most gamblers, his ‘beginner’s luck’ soon ran out and he started to lose huge amounts of money. Leeson’s losses eventually reached £827 million. Leeson’s psychology and behaviour was identical to that of a problem gambler (except he was gambling with much larger amounts of money and with someone else’s money). There was perhaps another reason why speculation was seen as psychologically
different from gaming, betting and lotteries. Unlike these other forms of gambling, speculation is a type of gambling where the gambler does not know how much they are going to win or lose on the gamble. If I put £1,000 on a horse to win the Grand National or on black to come up on a roulette wheel, I know that losing will cost me £1,000. On most stock market trades or spread bets, no-one knows beforehand what the losses could be. However, there are financial trades that could perhaps be argued to be more like betting than speculation. For instance, binary options look as though they are going to grow in popularity over the next year or two as the gambling payoff is more traditional than usual financial trading. In binary option betting, a cash-ornothing binary option will pay a fixed amount of money if the option traded on expires in-the-money (i.e., it is a simple win-or-lose bet as the potential return it offers is certain and known before the purchase is made). One of the attractions of binary options is that they can be bought on virtually any financial product and can be bought in both up and down directions of trade. The simplicity is likely to attract more people especially if they feel they know something about the product being traded upon. This is the same reason why spread betting took off in such a big way, because people feel they know about the market (e.g., football) that they are betting on, even if there is a huge element of chance (which there invariably is). My guess is that most people who work in the financial markets don’t see binary options as an investment opportunity – they see it for what it really is – a pure gamble.
INTERVIEW
ANOTHER DIMENSION Having previously interviewed a Knight of the realm in Sir Richard Branson, iGB Affiliate again sought the wisdom of another regally honoured entrepreneur who has this year been recognised by the industry for his outstanding contribution to online gaming. Jez San, OBE, President and Founder of PKR, talks to iGB Affiliate about his life as a businessman and innovator, and the founding of PKR.com. You started out on your entrepreneurial career path very early in life, having launched your first company at the age of 16. Was it always an ambition in your youth to become an entrepreneur? It was always my ambition to start a company. I just wanted to make games and create cool technologies. I needed a team of smart people to help me accomplish my goal, so yes, I always wanted to grow the team and make cool games and technology. What I didn’t know at the time was how to make money from it. That came later. Were there any influential figures in business, or in life, that you looked up to as role models for the way you wanted to go about your business? Yes, my dad was very influential in helping me learn the ropes in business and become an entrepreneur. He was also an entrepreneur, although in a very different business (he imported clothes and gadgets to trade; in fact, for a while much of Marks & Spencer’s underwear was imported by him from Israel). There were plenty of other role models, successful entrepreneurs, tech heroes and games designers; people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Shigeru Miyamoto. Describe how the Argonaut business came about – what compelled you to start it and how did you go about the financing and creation of the company? Argonaut was bootstrapped in my own bedroom. For the first 15 years of its life, it didn’t have any outside investment. It was initially just me, making successful games, and using the proceeds to finance the hiring of very smart developers to build our teams, and then getting advances from publishers to create new games for them. It was only when we wanted to grow the business, create our own IP and move into technology that we brought in
42
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
venture capital and outside investors, and eventually we went public (in the last tech boom of 2000). Where did your passion for 3D graphics stem from? I’ve always been into it. Probably because it was cool, and that very few people in the world (at the time) knew how to do it. I wrote my first 3D game when I was 16-years-old during a summer job (1982). Actually, at the time, I was taught the mathematics of how to do 3D perspective by my employer, but not how to program it; just the math, which isn’t that difficult (i.e. just divide the X and Y by Z to get perspective). But that didn’t allow rotation,
I’ve played poker on and off my entire life, purely with friends. It was only after I started playing online that I could see the potential for making a computer game of it. Combining the business model of Paradise Poker and PartyPoker with a 3D computer game involving social elements was my concept; the games players of today were not going to be happy or tolerate playing something that looked like a computer game from 20 years ago when they could play something much more fun and much more realistic, and yet use the same strategies and have the same chance of winning real money as they did playing those highly technical ‘top down’ perspective online poker games.
“[The OBE] has huge personal value to me, to one day show the kids and grandkids that once upon a time, daddy did something that the UK government and the Queen wanted to recognise.” and of course, just understanding the math is only a tiny fraction of making 3D graphics work on very humble and under-powered CPUs. That would require very clever programming and a bit of mathematics to ‘reduce’ complex math equations into simple computations that the CPU could do thousands and eventually millions of times a second. Although I haven’t programmed for a while, I was very good at it. I programmed in a language that’s rarely used today – assembly language. It’s what lets you get the most out of a CPU, and for 3D graphics on those early systems it was essential. Later systems became more powerful and allowed you to program in C. And how much a part of your life was poker at this stage – was it a passion of yours or was it more the opportunity that drove you to found PKR?
What were you seeing in the market that convinced you that the players wanted a more interactive experience – was it a natural choice considering the evolution of technology and the related consumer demands? What I was seeing was a bunch of lazy online poker companies who weren’t innovating because their incumbent market size was massive and they had a captive audience (operating in illegal or semi-legal places for years, and literally raking it in). These guys had millions; some even had billions in the bank. The existing online poker companies were just huge and well funded marketing machines, without any innovation or technology. They weren’t competing because they didn’t need to. They didn’t really care if a young whippersnapper with innovative ideas showed up to try and give them the teeniest kick in the pants and make something
INTERVIEW
genuinely better. We saw it as a huge gap in the market: aim at the casual player instead of the pro-am poker player. Do something that was as fun and beautiful as a state-ofthe-art computer game, but with the same business model and similar speed of play as the existing poker offerings. What did you perceive as the risks at the time in starting something so innovative and new? We didn’t really understand the risks, we just understood the technology. We had no idea that regulation would play such an important part in our livelihoods. We knew we had the best product by far, but unfortunately the incumbents had taught their market that product quality wasn’t important and that marketing and liquidity were all that mattered (and that product differentiation, and even being a regulated and legal company, didn’t matter). It was hard to break through as a barely financed young upstart. But had we just decided to be a poker company without innovation we would’ve had zero chance, so we figured it was a good bet. Did you expect more companies to follow in your lead than perhaps have done? Why aren’t there more PKRs out there, or more direct competition at least? To be honest, yes. I expected we’d be a just a year or two ahead and then have everyone else copying us. In the early days, we did have some early copiers but they floundered as they didn’t get the big picture: that it’s not just about 3D, it’s about fun and social and realism and the entire poker experience needs to be better, not just prettier (and in some of the 3D copies, it wasn’t even prettier). Also, building a poker site from scratch isn’t easy. We had to innovate in a lot of areas, and we had to learn a lot too. We knew nothing about many important aspects of operating a poker site. We learnt on the job and hired in the experts we needed in our areas of weakness. How do you see the PKR model fitting within social gambling – is this a natural environment for an interactive poker business of your credentials and strength of brand to excel? In many ways it’s a perfect fit. The pretty graphics, the fluid animations, the realism,
the socialising, the ‘emotes’, the way you can view the game, the way you interact with your friends and taunt your enemies etc… it’s all there. But the big problem was that PKR was built in C++ as a download and install game. It didn’t suit the Facebook distribution model which wanted everything in Flash or Java (and now
Be innovative, and be competitive. There’s still plenty of room for differentiated products. With regulation, it’s hard to differentiate yourself with novel business models so instead, make better products. The more choice consumers have, the better off they are. Right now there’s still a million poker and casino products that all
“There are still millions of poker and casino products that all look the same, because very few operators build their own games or have any technology skill-set at all. The gaming world can do better than that, surely?” HTML5). But that looks like its changing now that the world is going mobile. It’s entirely possible that PKR has skipped having to build a Flash version of its game, now that we have an awesome mobile product and that’s the way everything seems to be headed. We are, of course, building an HTML5 version to scoop up the players who don’t want ‘fancy shmancy’ 3D graphics, and that version will be the ‘no download’ version that will appeal to those who want instant kicks without the wait. But we do see a big and bright future in mobile and we have easily the best product in that market. If only we had the big guys’ marketing budgets, we could tell a lot more people about it.
look the same, and it’s probably because very few operators even build their own games or have any technology skill-set at all. Most operators just licence their ‘cookie cutter’ game products from white-label suppliers and do no more innovation than changing the logo on the front or the colour of the tables. The gaming world can do better than that, surely?
What other market forces do you see impacting on the wider gaming industry in the near future? The format shift to mobile seems unstoppable. Now that the suppliers of devices have wrested control of the software away from operators, the market has begun to flourish. And now the devices have capabilities and screen sizes that allow us to provide incredibly entertaining and beautiful products – those iPhones and Android devices were made to play PKR in glorious 3D, and the charts are validating it. PKR has been outselling the leaders by a comfortable margin in the markets where it is available (check out the iPhone app store UK ‘card game’ charts). Of course, PKR still prefers to stay legal so we don’t operate in many of the markets that some of the other guys do.
Finally, how prized a possession is your OBE? It’s a prized possession alright, but one that is hard to value, especially as I’m not the type of person who’s going to show it off. And many people I deal with on a day-today basis wouldn’t know what it is (it’s a very British thing). I’ve never actually worn it, not even to formal functions, and although the letters are on my business card, it doesn’t get you anything of perceivable value – it’s not like being a celebrity or oligarch; you don’t get a better table in a restaurant or an upgrade on a flight. However, it has huge personal value to me, to one day show the kids and grandkids that once upon a time, daddy did something that the UK government and the Queen wanted to recognise. It’s truly an honour and I’m happy to have been the first computer games guy to get one – but many more have had them since as the UK excels in computer games.
What would be your advice for anyone starting up a business in the gaming industry today?
If you had to start all over again in today’s environment, where would you start and what would you do differently? If I started in the last few years, I would definitely have started on Facebook. You can’t ignore that distribution channel and business model.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
43
INSIGHT
STATE OF THE UNION 2013 has already been a year of significant change for the online gaming industry in the US, with Delaware issuing an RFP, Nevada adding inter-state legislation to bolster its pending online poker industry and New Jersey finally coming to the table with is own legalised intra-state online gaming regulations. Rachel Hirsch, an associate at Washington DC-based law firm, Ifrah PLLC, takes a look at the changing iGaming landscape in the US and how events in Nevada and New Jersey could affect activity in other states. IF THE FIRST quarter of this year is any indication, 2013 is poised to be a watershed year for iGaming in the United States. With states like Nevada and New Jersey leading the charge, there has been a flurry of activity to introduce and pass iGaming legislation within individual states, with the expectation that cross-border play will soon follow. While some legislative measures have failed before even making it out of the gate, there is considerable justification for continued optimism for iGaming legislation, especially in the more populous states.
The leader board Although, for some time last year, New Jersey appeared to be on the verge of becoming the first state in the union to legalise and regulate online gaming, it actually turned out to be the third. New Jersey lost this honour to Nevada and Delaware. All three states, however, approved very different versions of iGaming legislation, with New Jersey offering a broader range of iGaming opportunities with the most appeal to foreign operators.
explore compacts with other states to share player pools, which is important to Delaware given its small population. Six months after passing its iGaming legislation, Delaware issued a request for proposals for the implementation of an Internet gaming system and associated services. Released on behalf of the Delaware State Lottery, the request invites interested parties to submit bids for the provision as a primary vendor of a back-end technology platform alongside operations manager services. To be considered for these positions, the request states that potential vendors must have been in business with at least one private or government client for a minimum of one year and must have operated real money games in regulated European or North American markets. Primary vendor applicants are required to have been operating in a regulated market for two years, as well as having offered at least 30 games or game variants for at least one year. After hearing oral presentations from potential vendors (scheduled for April at time of print), the Delaware State Lottery hopes to begin offering Internet gaming no later than September 30, 2013.
Delaware Unlike Nevada and New Jersey, Delaware offers a public-based model for its iGaming legislation. The law authorises the state lottery and the three racetrack casinos it regulates to offer full-scale Internet gambling, including web table games that include online poker, video lottery games, and traditional lottery games to be offered online. The law also allows the state to
44
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
Nevada Following the private-sector model, Nevada was the first state to legalise intra-state online poker, providing a potential platform for foreign operators to forge partnerships with existing landbased casinos in the state. Although the legislation passed in 2011, online poker has yet to go live in Nevada. The state has
developed regulations and begun to issue licences to operators, with some operators expecting a real money launch of online gaming this year. Not to be outdone by its competition in the east, Nevada lawmakers fast-tracked a new iGaming bill this year that would authorise Nevada to enter into inter-state gaming compacts. In February of this year, the Nevada Assembly Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to amend and pass Assembly Bill 114, which would allow Nevada to enter into partnerships with other states that legalise iGaming in order to share player pools. The bill was approved by both houses of the legislature in rapid succession, and Governor Brian Sandoval signed the bill as soon as it hit his desk. Under the new law, licensing fees have now been set at $500,000, with a renewal fee of $250,000. The law, however, also contains a clause that would prevent any online company that has offered online gambling to Americans since the 2006 passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) from entering the market for at least five years. This means that those companies shut down by the US government during the Black Friday seizures cannot earn a seat at Nevada’s table, at least initially.
New Jersey Although Nevada may have foreclosed opportunities to some of the giants in the industry, New Jersey has not. A week after Nevada passed its online gambling bill, New Jersey followed suit. Both houses of the state legislature had previously
INSIGHT
passed the iGaming bill, by large margins. Governor Chris Christie gave the online gambling bill a conditional veto in February, sending it back to the legislature and requesting minor changes. Lawmakers agreed to his conditions on February 26, passing the bill through the General Assembly with a vote of 68-5-1 and through the State Senate with a margin of 35-1. Governor Christie signed the bill into law that afternoon. The changes requested by the Governor included an enhanced level of funding for compulsive gambling treatment programmes, a requirement that state employees and legislators disclose any representation past or present of entities seeking Internet gaming licences, and an extension of a prohibition on any casinorelated employment for state employees and legislators to include companies involved in Internet gaming. Under the law, casinos or their affiliates would be allowed to offer the same games that are currently offered on Atlantic City casino gaming floors. All players must be physically located in New Jersey, but do not need to be residents of the state. The law also offers the possibility of generating much larger player pools for games through inter-state gaming compacts with states that have legalised online gaming within their borders, as long as this is consistent with federal law. There is no definitive word yet on when iGaming will become operational in New Jersey, but it is quite possible that it could happen this year.
The runners-up The news of Nevada and New Jersey passing online gambling legislation caused a surge of activity in other states.
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania recently introduced a bill that would legalise online poker, having overtaken New Jersey as the second most lucrative gambling market in the country.
With a population of 12.7 million people, Pennsylvania would have the largest intrastate player pool to work with between Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. Yet, operators may have to pay a steep price to take advantage of Pennsylvania’s player pool, with licence application fees expected to be in the millions.
Illinois As in Pennsylvania, total revenue generated by new gaming measures, including online gaming, would be a welcome addition to the state budget in Illinois. For the third time in as many years, an Illinois senate committee approved an expansion of casino gaming in the state, but this time including online gaming and poker. With a population of 13 million, Illinois has a larger player pool than the three other states that have legalised online gambling – New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware – combined. The legislation, like that in Nevada, includes a ‘bad actor’ provision, restricting the issuing of an iGaming licence to any operator and vendor that has “been convicted of accepting” wagers in violation of US law. The legislation also contemplates only intrastate iGaming play, even though Illinois would be an attractive partner for interstate compacts. With previous gambling measures failing, the path for iGaming in Illinois will be a difficult one.
New York Hoping to follow in the footsteps of its neighbouring states, New York recently passed a non-binding version of a budget bill that included a statement in support of the regulation of online poker. The proposed regulation reflects the recent court ruling from US District Judge Jack Weinstein that determined that poker is “not predominantly a game of chance”. The development of online poker regulations, along with the remainder of the budget bill, is expected to be finalised this spring. In
the meantime, the state is working on the authorisation and placement of new bricksand-mortar casinos and the establishment of an online lottery system.
California With the fifth largest economy in the world, California would have a major impact on iGaming if it were to approve it. The state legislature recently introduced a proposal to regulate online poker on an intra-state basis. The bill will allow the California Gambling Control Commission to establish a framework for online poker websites, which has the potential to generate billions of dollars. Although similar bills have failed to pass because of concerns from lawmakers and Native American tribes, there is still hope that this measure may succeed.
And the rest While renewed optimism continues to surge in some states, for others, hope for iGaming legislation has faded. Separate measures in the states of Hawaii and Iowa seeking to legalise and regulate online poker have folded due to lack of general support from legislators. For these smaller states, the opportunities for iGaming legislation will be largely dependent on how those on the leader board fare in implementing iGaming regulation within their states. As the iGaming leaders begin to generate tax revenues and job opportunities within their borders, other states will be motivated to do the same. Buoyed by the success of the leader board, in a year’s time, the landscape for US iGaming will be very different than it is today. RACHEL HIRSCH is an associate at Ifrah PLLC, a Washington, DC-based law firm specialising in iGaming, and Internet advertising and marketing.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
45
INSIGHT
THE US IGAMING INDUSTRY AND AFFILIATES
THE EVOLUTION OF MARKETS When provided with the brief for this article – the ramifications of recent actions taken in Nevada and New Jersey, and the prospects for multi-state or international compacts shaping an emerging group of US state-level markets – I first asked for a possible delay until the eleventh hour to submit my insights, if any, on the ever evolving legal and legislative landscape across numerous states’ prospects. My second thought was that actionable insights were likely few and far between at this point in the political process, except for the three states that have actually passed legislation, promulgated regulations and are inexorably moving toward launching either poker or casino/poker gaming online. So, I pulled out my copy of the Feb/March iGB Affiliate article entitled State of the Union and reviewed that survey of statelevel activity. News round-up First, my round-up of stories making the news; quite a bit has changed, it appears, at first glance. New Jersey’s online casino legislation has finally been signed into law. New Jersey was trounced in Federal Court regarding its planned launch of sportsbetting (a permanent injunction pending appeal), but a subsequent decision seems to have been made to plough ahead. New Jersey issued regulations to specifically allow its casinos to offer fantasy sports products, under a pretty liberal interpretation of what is/is not gambling or covered by the UIGEA. New Jersey’s enactment of casino-style online gaming presented the first recent major evolutionary event in the US markets. New Jersey putting casino games online is a move historically declined by Nevada’s casino interests, even though Caesars shares rose 14 percent on the news of its signing. (In a related skirmish, the American Gaming Association decided to lecture New Jersey on the suitability of PokerStars as an applicant for a bricks-and-mortar licence. New Jersey fined Caesars $250,000 for past inappropriate gaming conduct back in Nevada, again demonstrating an ability to act on events outside the state. Given the prior position New Jersey took on unacceptable associations, with respect to MGM and Pansy Ho, any approval of PokerStars’ application might be indirectly conditioned.)
46
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
Nevada’s lawmakers also fired a shot across PokerStars and New Jersey’s prospects, amending Nevada’s gaming law to add a ‘bad boy’ provision, taking discretion away from the Nevada Gaming Commission to make a determination under the former statutory authority. As I will discuss, this ‘bad boy’ (‘bad actor’) provision, repeated in proposed Illinois legislation, is the second recent development with a direct collateral impact on affiliate prospects for US markets. ‘Bad boy’ language had been dropped from New Jersey’s bill before passage. Illinois has a proposed 550 page bill on its legislative table, which while expanding bricks-and-mortar gaming, would allow Internet gaming, beyond just poker, run under the Lottery umbrella, and containing a ‘bad boy’ provision, albeit one more strict than that of Nevada. Illinois’ Governor (Pat) Quinn has since come out against the online portion of the bill, but it remains unclear if that is a negotiating position regarding pensions or real opposition. (Similarly unrelated intra-state governing issues, reportedly over judicial appointments, had delayed the signing of the New Jersey legislation to the eleventh hour.) Delaware issued a Request for Proposals from those vendors, with experience, who might be interested in supplying services and expertise to its fledgling online casino network. In the third recent development
of interest since February, PokerStars both moved ahead with pursuing a bricks-andmortar casino presence in the US and submitted a B2B proposal to the Delaware Lottery to provide poker-related services. In other news, Hawaii’s prospects for online gaming came and went, Iowa is reportedly not moving ahead, Mississippi will not pass a proposed bill this session. However, in state politics, ‘no’ often means ‘not now’ with respect to gaming legislation. As discussed below, this characteristic of legislative evolution has a timeframe different than industry publication deadlines. Legislation moves at an imperceptible pace, even at the state level, until some ‘Big Bang’ event occurs.
Wait for the ‘Big Bang’ My advice to affiliates interested in the US state markets is: “Wait for the Big Bang, then move into what opportunities appear thereafter.” The Big Bang Event: the launch of actual online gaming in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. After the Bang, the market and various states’ desire for revenue will lead to legalisation in additional states, and, drawing on lottery industry experience, a likely number of initial multi-state and/or international compacts. (Currently, Nevada has designated its Governor as the point man to negotiate needed multi-state compacts and solicited public/industry input for the
INSIGHT
Gaming Commission as to desired terms for entering multi-state agreements. To its credit, the Nevada Gaming Commission also has sought affiliate input on how to best regulate the online poker industry.) More important than tracking the progress of individual states toward legalisation, US market observers should consider the likely direction of the development of those market(s) following the 2012 failure to pass a controlling federal solution. As the states’ markets develop, I expect to see them reveal some new themes:
2013’s three evolutionary developments 1. A paradigm shift from a legislative sponsorship with a ‘poker-only focus’ to ‘full casino gaming’ going online legally. 2. The spread of ‘bad boy’ statutory provisions from Nevada to Illinois and possibly beyond. 3. PokerStars’ watershed moves of proposing a B2B arrangement with a lottery provider, while concurrently seeking entry to the land-based casino industry. A paradigm shift from a ‘poker-only focus’ to ‘full casino gaming’ going online legally arose from the failure of the longrunning attempt to federally impose a market restriction on the online gaming industry and its prospective government beneficiaries. Interestingly, neither New Jersey nor Delaware adopted a pokeronly self-limitation, preferring to opt for a higher margin, wider offering of full online casino gaming. Subsequent states’ legalisation, driven largely by lottery interests, seems more likely to follow Delaware or New Jersey than Nevada’s poker-only model. Poker-only served as both a strategy to pass a federal bill and to limit feared
cannibalisation of the bricks-and-mortar casino market in Nevada. Poker-only failed to carry water up Capitol Hill, but passed in Nevada. This anomaly may have left Nevada as a first mover whose state-level innovation will prove a self-limiting barrier as other states move forward. The spread of ‘Bad Boy’ statutory provisions from Nevada to Illinois, and possibly beyond, may have the greatest collateral impact on which affiliates get a regulatory nod to practice their art. Nevada passed a prohibition on online licensees utilising information derived from a database used for online gaming after December 31, 2006: “‘Covered asset’ means any tangible or intangible asset specifically designed for use in, and used in connection with, the operation of an interactive gaming facility that, after December 31, 2006, knowingly and intentionally operated interactive gaming that involved patrons located in the United States, unless and to the extent such activity was licensed at all times by a state or the Federal Government, including, without limitation: 1. Any trademark, trade name, service mark or similar intellectual property under which an interactive gaming facility was identified to the patrons of the interactive gaming facility; 2. Any information regarding persons via a database, customer list or any derivative of a database or customer list.” Illinois has a proposal to go further, extending the ‘toxic’ cloud to include anyone who, at any time in the prior ten years preceding passage and application for a licence, took a wager via the Internet in violation of that section of Illinois law, potentially barring such
prospective Nevada suppliers as bwin. party and any other industry service providers active as far back as 2004. The third evolutionary development – PokerStars’ watershed moves of proposing a B2B arrangement with a lottery provider – while concurrently seeking entry to the bricks-and-mortar casino industry, may represent the AGA and Nevada’s worst nightmare. If PokerStars enters the B2B supplier market, and also develops a full casino gaming expertise, Nevada may regret the self-inflicted handicap it will face in signing up multi-state partners. Finally, I’ll go out on a limb and predict that multi-state compacts will emerge, with federal legislative blessing, by late 2014. I anticipate that several different compacts may emerge, with shifting alliances as compacts compete for new members; think NCAA athletic sports conferences. Eventually, the market demands for large tournament pools will lead to a structure similar to the Powerball and Mega Millions prize pools across 43-plus states.
DAVID GZESH, Legal Counsel at Gzesh Law Offices. David provides poker and online gaming industry clients an understanding of their business issues and goals, drawn from experience for years spent as an online poker network operator and software provider. David also brings legal expertise from 20-plus years’ experience advising both online and bricks-and-mortar gaming operators in a number of jurisdictions, both in the US and overseas. Elected in 2010 as a General Member of the International Masters of Gaming Law, and as a member of the State Bar of Nevada Section on Gaming Law, David provides an informed perspective on the re-emerging US online gaming market(s) and regulatory development.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
47
INSIGHT
HURRY UP AND WAIT
There is a ‘hurry up and wait’ mentality that exists throughout the industry when it comes to the US market. Everything is reported as urgent, and everyone is being told they must act now or they will miss out. But the reality is different, writes Gian Perroni. FOR AFFILIATES, THE news about online gaming regulation in the US has been a lot like receiving a gift set of wooden Russian dolls that each has a smaller doll inside. You are excited to see what’s inside, and then maybe a little disappointed because it’s just another doll, and it is smaller, but then you are excited again because you get to open another one, and then… seriously dude, another doll? So then you think, “OK, really, how many more times do I get really happy and then sad and just how small is my present going to be at the end when I open the last doll?” But wait; all has not been for naught. We’ve got legal online gaming in three states, and by the time this article goes to press, maybe a couple more will be closer to opening up. Of course, nobody is really live yet, and the player liquidity issue is still the second biggest barrier to online poker operations, but we’re getting there, and real hope is starting to emerge that affiliates can rediscover opportunities within the US market, outside of the few remaining online wagering opportunities. In particular, the already published affiliate regulations and licensing in Nevada, and the similar pending opportunities in New Jersey, open the door to earning legitimate money in the US online gaming space. Nevada might be considered by many to have the bigger opportunities simply because it is Nevada, but the reality is that New Jersey has almost four times the population, far less landbased gaming operations, and is open to more than just poker. New Jersey’s licensing would suggest that affiliates will need to work on a fixed cost for service, either by a CPA or perhaps CPL or similar. This is different than Nevada where revenue share is allowed.
48
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
New Jersey is also less expensive and a far less onerous process to get through.
Considerations Another consideration to keep in mind is that it is not only the size of the markets that are smaller, but also the compensation offered to affiliates is likely to be significantly lower. Nobody has come out with firm numbers yet, but with the much higher tax rates in place in regulated jurisdictions, versus the taxes paid by most non-US operators, there is going to be a smaller per player net house expectation, and this should translate to smaller payments for
well be a good thing in some ways; the land-based operators have lots of time to hire the right people that know the online space, and to study the various software options being pushed at them.
Hurry up and wait There is this ‘hurry up and wait’ mentality in place throughout the industry. Everything is reported as urgent, and casino operators and Indian tribal leaders are told they must act now, today, or they will miss out. But the reality is different, and all of us – operators, affiliates and players – still have time to wait.
“There is this ‘hurry up and wait’ mentality in place throughout the industry. Everything is reported as urgent… but the reality is different; all of us – operators, affiliates and players – still have time to wait.” players. Look for numbers closer to what retail affiliates earn in these markets. Of course, the opportunity to partner with a fully regulated, secure and reputable operation has affiliates excited, as there will be real money to be made when everyone figures things out. As the operators and prospective operators take this time to prepare, affiliates can also use their time wisely. Clean up your databases, create new ways to collect player information in the states you want to target, develop your brand in the market, and start generating traffic now. But here’s the rub: nobody can process money yet. This is the first and largest remaining barrier to online operations. The UIGEA took care of that, and the opinion letter from the DoJ notwithstanding, the banks won’t want to get burned until there is law in place to specifically allow them to process gaming transactions. This might
And by the way, while you are focusing on Nevada and New Jersey, don’t forget to look at where other opportunities may be created. Renewed ADW online wagering and similar opportunities in Illinois and other states? Grab a bite of the binary market. Watch the ‘maybe’ states like California, Iowa and Massachusetts, and start working on your plans for these states as well so that you lead the pack. Apparently, the view is better up there.
GIAN PERRONI is the owner of AffPoint.com, an affiliate industry informational and resource portal, and the creator of the AffPoint Affiliate Boot Camps. Gian also works as a consultant with American iGaming Solutions in the United States.
iGB_mag_ad_marks.pdf 1 04/04/2013 10:16:47 AM
Convert more customers & maximize your earning potential! Earn commission TWICE by promoting NETELLER along with your existing online gaming promotions.
9999
VALID DATES MONTH / YEAR – MONTH / YEAR
Access your affiliate funds whenever and wherever you need them!
Affiliate Website
Affiliate account
With low fees and multiple withdrawal options we make getting your money easy.
C
M
Y
Refer your players to NETELLER
You earn money!
CM
MY
You earn money!
CY
Need to make payouts? Our fast and free peer to peer money transfers make it easier than ever!
CMY
Deposit to merchants
K
Merchant Website
Why work with us? • • • • • •
Earn 20% uncapped lifetime revenue share - no matter where your customers play! Benefit from exclusive bonuses and player promotions Guest blogging and social media opportunities help increase your traffic Detailed affiliate resources and country-specific user guides Award-winning affiliate team Weekly payouts directly to your eWallet
JOIN TODAY
neteller.com/affiliate Copyright © Optimal Payments Plc. All rights reserved. Optimal Payments Limited is authorised by the Financial Services Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (FRN:900015) for the issuing of electronic money and payment instruments. Neteller Operations Limited is licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission of the Isle of Man (Ref. 1357) to carry on money transmission services. The NETBANX® trademark is the property of Netbanx Limited. NETELLER and Net+ are registered trademarks of Optimal Payments Plc. Net+ prepaid cards are issued by Optimal Payments Limited, pursuant to a licence from MasterCard International Inc. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Inc.
Affiliate Poker ad 210x297 04/04/2013 18:31 Page 1
Affiliate
bet365affiliates.com More Players. More Potential. Take your seat.
www.gambleaware.co.uk
Affiliate Casino ad 210x297_1 04/04/2013 18:31 Page 1
bet365affiliates.com MORE GAMES, MORE OPPORTUNITIES
bet365affiliates.com
www.gambleaware.co.uk
AWARDS SPECIAL
IGB AFFILIATE AWARDS 2013
The 2013 iGB Affiliate Awards ceremony once again brought the iGaming affiliate marketing community together, with over 500 people on hand to honour some of the best programs, affiliates and personalities from the last 12 months.
This year’s ceremony formed part of the hugely successful London Affiliate Conference, which was moved to February for 2013, and was again held in the splendour of The Brewery where guests were treated to a VIP evening of fine food, fine wine and celebration. We look back at the night in pictures and detail all of the winners of the coveted awards on the night.
THE 2013 AWARDS WINNERS AND JUDGES’ COMMENTS Best Affiliate Manager: Casino Martyn Beacon, AffiliateEdge.com Judges’ comments: The judges felt that Martyn’s hard work and dedication, complimented by his friendly and helpful approach made him the rightful winner of this award. Martyn is an industry veteran who is renowned for getting affiliates the most out of their sites’ and for his sense of humour which makes building relationships with him very easy.
Best Affiliate Manager: Poker Kriton Kounelakis, bwin.party Judges’ comments: Kriton won this award for his overwhelming dedication to his work, in which he consistently goes above and beyond what is required. His commitment to working hard for bwin.party and ensuring its success is absolute and this award is well deserved.
Best Affiliate Manager: Bingo Simon Dunne, Butlers Bingo Judges’ comments: The judges acknowledge that Simon’s hard work has grown and developed Butlers Bingo into a great program. The judges noted that Simon goes the extra mile for his affiliates and is consistently focused on their success offering advice and support.
Best Affiliate Manager: Sportsbook Craig Van Flute, Sportingbet Judges’ comments: Craig is an extremely talented affiliate manager with an open minded approach. He has the ability to look at bespoke promotions quickly and consistently responds promptly to queries, making him the ultimate sportsbook affiliate manager.
Best Affiliate Manager: Financial Jennifer Ming, NETELLER (Optimal Payments) Judges’ comments: Jennifer deserved this award because of her passion for relationship management and concern
52
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
for the needs of her affiliates. Her friendly approach and dedication in always trying to find the highest financial rewards for her affiliates has secured her this award.
Best Affiliate Manager: Overall James Woods, bet365 Judges’ comments: The judges chose James because he dedicates his time to his affiliates and ensuring that they succeed. He manages a very large team while being there for his affiliates around the clock, is well respected and well liked and is extremely loyal to bet365. He’s always on the ball and understands what affiliates want. James is a well deserved winner for this category.
Best Affiliate Program: Casino Affiliates United Judges’ comments: Affiliates United was selected by the judges because not only does it have some of the highest conversions in casino but also maximises the player’s value over and above other casino affiliate programs. In addition, the judges were particularly impressed with the program’s wide range of marketing materials and promotional tools.
Best Affiliate Program: Poker Unibet Affiliates Judges’ comments: This award not only recognises Unibet’s affiliate program, but also the passion and dedication of the Unibet Affiliate team. They were
AWARDS SPECIAL
particularly impressed with how strong the brand is throughout Europe and how that increases conversions over and above the industry average. Overall, they felt Unibet was an exceptional affiliate program from the people right through to the technology.
Best Affiliate Program: Bingo Market-Ace Judges’ comments: For the second year running, the judges have awarded Best Affiliate Bingo Program to Market-Ace. The company has some of the best bingo brands available and constantly innovate with new games to attract and retain players. The judges also noted that Market Ace offers excellent commission rates for affiliates and offer perfect brands for ‘softer’ gaming traffic. Whilst doing all this, the company continues to be a professional and efficient Bingo Program.
Best Affiliate Program: Sportsbook Paddy Power Judges’ comments: Not only does Paddy Power have an incredible affiliate program but also a brand which has excellent crossover branding and conversion. Paddy Power is a true reflection of Anthony (Wong) and his team; straightforward, professional, kind and generous – all traits that are visibly evident in the program. The company has shown great innovation and growth over the last twelve months and is the only right winner of this category.
Best Affiliate Program: Financial Etoro Judges’ comments: The judges recognised Etoro Partners because of its completely unique approach of merging social and financial trading. This is coupled with the fact that the back end has some great analytical tools as well as a large variety of marketing resources. Etoro continues to lead the financial trading business and was an easy choice for the judges.
Best Affiliate Program: Overall Bet365 Judges’ comments: The judges have awarded this top honour to Bet365 because even though the company already boasts a great program, it remains committed to developing and improving year-onyear. The company continues to focus on affiliate marketing as a major acquisition tool for the business and it shows in the quality of the program. To compliment this, it has a dedicated and driven team who prioritise the needs of affiliates at all times no matter how big the affiliate is. Bet365 has, without doubt, created an affiliate program that is truly exceptional.
Most Improved Affiliate Program Sky Affiliate Hub Judges’ comments: The Sky affiliate programme has literally come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 months and is now a genuine contender in the iGaming affiliate sector. The program has improved in all areas and now has an excellent back end with a wide range of tools available for affiliates to promote this well known and high converting brand.
Best iGaming Affiliate Network Income Access Judges’ comments: Income Access is the only company to have won its category every single year since the awards started in 2007. The judges were impressed with how the network has once again improved with a large range of brands as well as excellent and clear reporting. The affiliate management team are extremely knowledgeable, friendly and focused on helping their affiliates to make more money.
Featured Winner: Skrill Rossen Yordanov, Affiliate Channel Manager, Skrill “It’s an honour to be named Best Payment System for affiliates. We are happy to see that our efforts in combining our reliable, high-quality/ low-cost service, with a friendly and adequate approach to the affiliate industry doesn’t go unnoticed. Over the years, we have invested heavily in Skrill Affiliates and its partners. We value our affiliates very highly and we aim to build a lasting relationship by delivering value back by being quick and responsive. We have introduced an exclusive and unrivalled range of account benefits for the affiliates that participate in our affiliate program, all of which ties into the overall rating of our payment system. “With our brand new website and payment gateway going live soon, we are about to finalise our rebrand to Skrill by improving the user experience to respond to the changing online world, where speed and usability on all devices have a new meaning. We are on track for another year of providing the best payment service to affiliates, so stick with Skrill.”
Best Payment System for Affiliates Skrill (Moneybookers) Judges’ comments: Not only is Skrill incredibly reliable, but it also understands the needs of the affiliate industry, offering a high standard of product with low fees. The company has friendly and professional staff that are responsive and focused purely on their customers’ needs, which makes it easy to select Skrill as he best payment system for affiliates.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
53
AWARDS SPECIAL
The Lou Fabiano Award for the Best iGaming Community GPWA Judges’ comments: GPWA continues to be informative, providing useful information to new and experienced affiliates. The forums are extremely busy and it mediates controversial discussions professionally. The team at GPWA are the gold standard in iGaming community discussions and have the highest reputation among the iGaming affiliate communities and programs, making them, for the second year in a row, the best iGaming community in the industry.
Best Newcomer: Affiliate Program Affiliate REPUBLIK Judges’ comments: Affiliate Republik has made a huge impression in an incredibly short space of time. The judges noted the company’s solid network run by ex-affiliate specialists, along with its branding and marketing tools as second to none. The judges also complimented the website as being honest and to the point.
Best Newcomer: Affiliate gambling.com Judges’ comments: The judges were particularly impressed with how the new owners of gambling.com had turned the site around in such a short space of time, already dominating some very competitive search terms. It has broken the mould by offering a quality site for players which is easy to navigate, informative, offering high quality content on all verticals. The company has emerged from the doldrums of domain obscurity to become one of the leading online casino affiliates in no time at all.
Best Affiliate: Casino, sponsored by Winner Affiliates Lastestcasinobonuses.com (LCB) Judges’ comments: LCB has grown from strength to strength in 2012 whilst others
54
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
have stood still. It consistently ranks for extremely high value keywords and is renowned for its innovative and professional approach. The team is extremely approachable and has the art of creating and selling exclusive gaming bonuses down to a tee. This site provides invaluable information on a wide variety of online slot games, including many hardcoded free play slots. LCB is one of the largest and well-known casino portals in the market and easy choice for the judges.
Best Affiliate: Poker Pokernews.com Judges’ comments: PokerNews ticks all the boxes when it comes to a high quality and informative poker portal. It provides excellent live coverage at all major poker events and is known for its extremely high quality news and analysis. In addition, the PokerNews team is always thinking outside the box generating unique promotional ideas to attract and convert players. This diverse team, which has many exciting properties, is a worthy winner of best poker affiliate.
Best Affiliate: Bingo bingoport.co.uk Judges’ comments: Bingoport is the top bingo affiliate in the market. It is the one-stop-shop for UK bingo players with original and high quality content that is written to inform and engage its community. The SEO strategy behind Bingoport is impressive, ensuring it ranks for some highly competitive terms often above the large operators.
Best Affiliate: Sportsbook, sponsored by Coral Interactive Oddschecker.co.uk Judges’ comments: Quite simply, Oddschecker is the one affiliate a sportsbetting operator can’t live without. It is the largest odds comparison site, offering customers the choice of best prices in available markets, the site is easy to use and has great functionality.
Oddschecker consistently ranks well in search and importantly has some of the highest conversion rates making it the best sportsbetting affiliate in the market.
Best Affiliate: Financial dailyforex.com Judges’ comments: During the last few years, Daily Forex has established its strong brand in the financial industry and has a good reputation among traders and brokers. Its traffic quality is better than many of its competitors and its volume keeps growing. Daily Forex is by far the dominant player in the space and an essential affiliate to be working with.
Best Affiliate: Overall, sponsored by Neteller Olbg.co.uk Judges’ comments: 2012 was OLBG’s year. The company sponsored a race at the Cheltenham Festival and ran some extremely innovative and high converting campaigns, such as its toilet tips. It has a large community of sportsbetting customers and offers regular engaging content for its customers via an amazing forum generating quality punters. Through hard work, innovation and dedication, OLBG has grown to be a major force in affiliate marketing and a worthy winner of this award.
Best Payment System For Affiliates Thank you to all of our merchants and affiliates
Winner 2013 Everyone is a winner with Skrill! Earn revenue share and also get great benefits for your Skrill account with the Skrill Affiliate programme. Contact affiliates@skrill.com to find out more or register directly at:
www.skrill.com/ads/affiliates
20130327-3819_Skrill-Affiliate-iGB-Magazine-Print-ad.indd 1
27/03/2013 14:25
FEATURE
Desire
Eat, sleep and breathe your business
D
THE ANATOMY OF THE SUPER AFFILIATE This issue, we seek to better understand what it takes to sit at the top table of affiliate marketing. In both the iGaming sector and across the wider business community, we will attempt to find out the skill-sets and mindsets required to earn the title of super affiliate. We start this feature by welcoming the renowned super affiliate, Zac Johnson, to examine the anatomy of the super affiliate. IN THE WORLD of Internet and affiliate marketing, there has been a common phrase that has been thrown around for many years now, and that is ‘super affiliate’. The name now comes with a varied mix of emotions and definitions that make it different from what it once was years ago. When I first started making money online over 15 years ago, the phrase super affiliate usually meant that you were the top affiliate for any given ad network or affiliate program. Back then, there was much less competition, affiliates and ad networks. As Internet marketing continued to grow, super affiliates were considered affiliate marketers who could generate six figures in sales (and now, it’s in the seven-plus figure range). If you search for what many other people consider a super affiliate to be online, you will get a definition such as the following:
The top one or two percent of affiliates that generate approximately 90 percent of any affiliate program’s earnings. I always like to think that the best way to definite a super affiliate is to simply look
56
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
at the volume they can push over time and how they continually adapt their business with the changes the Internet marketing space throws at them. While the term ‘super affiliate’ may not be referenced as much as it used to, there are still individual marketers who are going to continually push a massive amount of volume through their single person business, which is what I would consider the average super affiliate to be referenced as.
Is the world of online marketing right for you? It takes a special type of person to be able to run a business of their own. If you have experience in the bricks-andmortar or retail space, this doesn’t guarantee that you will find success in online marketing. The Internet is a completely different beast and I always like to say that you have to fail before you find success. Being a self-taught entrepreneur from my teenage years, it’s always been a changing battle of finding what’s next in the world of online marketing that allows successful business models to change and fail over time, while adapting to what’s currently working right now and planning for the coming months and years.
It doesn’t matter if you are in the dating niche or focusing your efforts on online gaming, how you are going to build your business and create ad campaigns will change over time. Online gambling used to be focused on Flash casinos and buying high priced keywords in the search results. Now, Google doesn’t allow gambling-related advertisers and more businesses are focusing their efforts on allowing users to access their content and games on their mobile devices. The game is changing, and if you want to build a business in the world of online marketing, you are going to have to change with it.
Innova
What does it take to be a successful affiliate marketer? It’s extremely easy to find success in the world of online marketing and then quickly find yourself getting lazy. This is why so many people jump into online marketing and make some quick money, then end up losing even more. To be a successful at affiliate marketing, you need to eat, sleep and breathe your business. This isn’t a game for people who want ‘more free time’ and an easy way to make money; having an online business
Build your own b
FEATURE
Dedication
Plan for the long-term Entrepreneurial
Trendsetter Trendspotter
Find success, rinse and repeat
Success across multiple disciplines: Casino Poker Bingo Sportsbetting Lotteries Forex Binary Options
Endeavour Innovator
Adaptable
Vision
your own brand
Focus on what you know
Knowledge
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
57
FEATURE
at, sleep and breathe your business
SERPs
Pay Per Click
Keyword Density - (Nkr / Tkn) *100
Plan for the long-term is just as serious as opening your own local business with full-time employees, business costs and pressure. The only difference is that the barrier of entry is much easier and much lower in cost. I’ve taken the liberty of breaking down a few traits that every successful affiliate marketer should have.
Focus on what you know There are literally thousands of different ways to make money online with affiliate marketing. You can focus on search advertising, media buying, software installs, mobile and so much more. The most important thing is that you find what you are best at and focus your efforts on it. I’ve personally found myself and others spreading themselves too thin and working on projects that aren’t making real money, when you could be working on what you already know works, and improving it.
Building a team around yourself Running a business on the Internet is like no other business in the world because it’s working for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means you can connect with people at any given time and the gurus and big money makers who may seem untouchable, are just an email away. One of the absolute best ways to find success in online marketing is by building a team of successful friends and contacts around you. I’m not talking about employees or people you hire, I’m talking about some good networking buddies who have the same drive and passion as you. This will not only help you build your own little think tank, but it will also keep you on your toes and inspired to always do better.
Mange your time and outsource the rest I previously mentioned the importance of focusing on what you know best and
58
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
Success across multiple channels: Online Mobile Tablet Social Land-based
Search Engine Marketing
not wasting your time on new projects. While the Internet may be running every second of every day, there is only so much that you can do as an individual. Once you are a master at creating ad campaigns or websites for your business, there is no reason why you couldn’t outsource the simplistic processes that take up your time, but can also be considered as ‘busy work’. This can be anything from content generation, keyword research, managing invoices, email and much more. Through the use of virtual assistants, you can hire well trained workers from other countries at very low monthly rates and not need to worry about hiring and housing new employees in your company.
Find success, rinse and repeat At the end of the day, it’s all about finding a successful business model and scaling it as much as possible, then repeating the process. If you can create a successful ad campaign for one advertiser, then you should be able to do the same for others. This is another important reason why you should focus your efforts on one type of marketing and being the best at it. Throw in the addition of outsourcing and management and there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to handle a good amount of successful ad campaigns at the same time.
Are you building your own brand, or that of your advertisers? Being an affiliate marketer is great, but you also have to consider your future as an online marketer. How long can you continually jump from ad campaign to ad campaign and send long-term customers and business to your advertisers? The money is great, especially if you are pulling some high profit margins, but in most cases, the residual income isn’t there. There is also the possibility that your main source of income can go out of
business, neglect to send payment or throw you out of their program all together. To have a long-term business model, you should be focusing your efforts on continued success, and not just your latest campaign pay cheque. This is something we are seeing a lot more of in the affiliate marketing space. Super affiliates are taking everything they have learnt over the years, funding themselves and starting their own businesses and ad networks. It just doesn’t make sense to keep making a portion of the money available when you know how to rule a full scale business of your own. Several years ago, I found myself moving away from the affiliate marketer model and started to focus on building my own brand; this was one of the best decisions I have made. Having your own brand means that you can build up a massive following through social networks, mailing lists and content on your own website. Since launching my personal branded blog at ZacJohnson.com, I’ve been featured on ABC and Fox News, released a book, spoke in countries around the world and so much more. This simply wouldn’t have been possible if I was an affiliate marketer into the dark and just running ad campaigns. However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Money is good, and not everyone likes to be in the limelight or have his or her information out there.
Do you have what it takes to be a super affiliate? Taking everything into consideration that I’ve written in this article, the question isn’t whether you have the capabilities to become a super affiliate, but whether you have the desire. You can even throw the term ‘super affiliate’ out of the window as it will be nearly impossible for the majority of us to ever drive 90 percent of business
Dedication
FEATURE Find success, rinse and repeat
Click Through Rate
Search Engine Optimisation
Google PageRank - PR(A) = (1-d) + d(PR(t1)/C(t1) + … + PR(tn)/C(tn)) “Super affiliates are taking everything they have learnt over the years, funding themselves and starting their own businesses and ad networks. It just doesn’t make sense to keep making a portion of the money available when you know how to rule a full scale business of your own.” to large online gaming and ad networks. What’s important is that you focus on your business model and continually adapt with the changes that the world of Internet marketing has to offer. Don’t forget to also focus on your long-term goals and even becoming your own brand.
Q&A with Zac Johnson What are the main points to consider if you’re starting-up as an affiliate in today’s economy? What’s amazing about starting an online business is that the cost of entry is extremely low. You can get a domain name for $10 and a hosting account for under $10 a month, then create your own content and have a real business. One of the things I would stress about starting a business online is that it’s easy to blow through a lot of money fast if you don’t know what you are doing. When creating ad campaigns, you need to scale-up slowly and plan your budget. With billions of people accessing social networks and search results, it is way too much volume to work with if you aren’t watching your campaigns. How do you think affiliation has changed since you started – has it become a more professional practice? Also, is it now looked on as a more ‘legitimate’ industry, so to speak? Affiliate marketing continues to progress with time, but not always in the right direction. When I first started out, we all knew affiliate marketing was the future and how powerful it was going to be. Now it seems like every website and brand has an affiliate program of its own. Even with
all of the benefits and success stories you hear from affiliate marketing, it can also be negative at the same time. There are plenty of people out there who are making a lot of money from affiliate marketing and using misleading and unethical ways to do so. The whole ‘rebill’ and fake news articles didn’t help with how the traditional business world looks at online and affiliate marketing. If you were starting out as an affiliate today, what sector would you be targeting? If I was starting from scratch today, I would probably focus my efforts on mobile ad campaigns just because the numbers are absolutely staggering, and it’s only getting started. Hundreds of thousands of new Smartphones are being activated every day and so many online marketers still aren’t even trying to make money in this space. It’s only going to continue to grow in the coming years. What kind of person does it take to be a super affiliate? If someone wants to be a super affiliate, or just successful in the world of online marketing, they simply need to live the business. Just because you don’t need to check-in to an office, stamp a time card or interact with real customers on a daily basis, this is still a real business. I would imagine that almost all very successful online marketers are always thinking about their business and how they can come up with new ways to tweak their ad campaigns and websites to attract new audiences and increase profits. You simply have to love what you do, and even more so when your name is the brand.
Finally, once you reach the level of super affiliate, how do you ensure that you stay there? Like they say, it’s lonely at the top. Once you find success in online marketing, it’s extremely hard to keep. Depending on the market you are working in, advertisers and campaigns can dry up pretty quickly, with some lasting only a few weeks or months. This is why you always have to be looking ahead and seeing what is next. No matter what traffic source you are using, or product you are promoting, there’s a good chance that there is an army of other people trying to do exactly the same thing as you.
At the age of 15, ZAC JOHNSON began making money online designing website banners for $1 each. A self taught entrepreneur, Zac has been making money online for over 15 years and has been involved in nearly every facet of affiliate marketing. Still a one-man company, a recent highlight of Zac’s success is “How I Made $860,538.38 Profit in 4 Months!” from one website, and can be read at his super affiliate blog at http://zacjohnson.com. In addition to being featured on ABC and Fox News, the blog and Zac’s brand continues to grow on daily basis and has referred over $5,000,000 in new business to his advertisers and network partners.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
59
FEATURE
DEFINING THE SUPER AFFILIATE In attempting to define a hypothetical biology of the super affiliate, and the skill-sets and mindsets that separate them from the rest, iGB Affiliate spoke to Harry Bowden at Oddschecker, and Scott Logan at Bingoport, to help construct a picture of the affiliates seated at the top table. How do you personally define the term super affiliate? Harry Bowden, Oddschecker
From Oddschecker’s point of view, a super affiliate is a major player within its industry in its own right, not just within affiliate marketing. It sits in a position with a broader view of the entire industry than individual operators, allowing it to attain and provide unique, industry-spanning insights. As a result, it is in a position to work alongside operators, helping them develop a distinct strategy for the future. Therefore, a super affiliate is as much a partner as it is an affiliate. It is, of course, dependant on the overall performance of its industry but it is actually in a position to drive change and improvement in a business sector, rather than simply being reliant on the fortunes of individual operators. Scott Logan, Bingoport
I believe a super affiliate is more than just an affiliate. That is: it’s more than just putting up a website with some links to merchants/ operators. It’s more than gaming Google into ranking your site. It’s even more than simply writing casino reviews or poker room reviews. A super affiliate is dedicated to building a true brand and competing in the niche that they have chosen, normally against the operators that they promote themselves. A super affiliate is committed to stepping outside the box and trying new things, innovating, building communities and ultimately building a sustainable business. I think the two key notions here are the
60
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
building of a sustainable business and the building of a true brand. In that sense, a super affiliate will grow to run a company the way any normal company would be run; with correct financial accountability, staff and an appetite for growth. Another trait is that super affiliates will always work closely with the operators to help build their business at the same time as building their own. A super affiliate understands that you can’t have one without the other, and this symbiotic relationship can only exist while both parties are successful.
From a business perspective, what does it take to be a super affiliate in the gaming space? Ultimately, at the heart of Oddschecker is a great product and service which exceeds the user’s goals. It is very highly thought-of and well-used within the betting community by both punter and operator. The site’s success up to now has largely been built around strong SEO performance and that is one of the core reasons for its popularity when compared to close competitors. The product is always going to be the key component in becoming a respected and valuable affiliate. However, the step-up to becoming a super affiliate stems from offering something unique to the industry, and in the case of Oddschecker, that is raw data and the insights gleaned from this information. In the gaming space, there has long been a lack of concrete research and data to help drive operators forward and this is where Oddschecker connects the dots. Operators often see Oddschecker as a microcosm of the entire industry and use their performance across the site to gauge their success in relation to their competitors. This is
Harry Bowden, Oddschecker
where we become more than the average gaming affiliate. Scott Logan, Bingoport
Our primary affiliate website, BingoPort.co.uk, has only grown and been successful because we’ve always treated it as a true brand; a brand that in many ways competes with the operators that we promote on the site. We’ve worked hard to build a community of users that trust the BingoPort.co.uk brand and we use that trust to carry over to the operators that we work closely with. In turn, those operators know that we’re serious about our business and we are then able to work with them to convert players, with both parties winning. In effect, the commitment to longevity that we bring as affiliates is one of the major factors that might put us in the super affiliate league. From there, we can then build on that to take our business to the next level, by branching out into other mediums (such as PPC or TV) and bring the operators with us as there is that level of trust on both sides.
What sort of person does it take to be a super affiliate: what are the necessary skill-sets that need to be in place, and what mindset is required? Harry Bowden, Oddschecker
Becoming a super affiliate requires vision, fantastic support and, ultimately, the right personnel to drive a business forward. No one person is responsible for the success of a company so cohesion between all business units is obviously essential. There is also a need for a strong relationship with partners and, as a result, having people who can form and maintain these relationships is absolutely pivotal for the long-term success of an affiliate like Oddschecker. At an individual level, key traits include an underlying and powerful ambition,
FEATURE
willingness to work harder than anyone else and the ability to turn this ambition and hard work into a great product. The proof of this is in a finished product, which is proven to drive revenue for both the operator and the affiliate. Scott Logan, Bingoport
When starting out, you would need to be highly entrepreneurial. By this, I mean you need to always be thinking outside the box. Where are the best places to get the newest sources of traffic? How can you optimise that traffic better and how can it convert better in the final stage? While, as one person, you don’t need to have all the skills required, you need to understand how the industry works and how people interact with your product and the products that you are promoting – and constantly consider how it can be done better. If I had to pick one trait when it comes to a mindset, it would be a longterm vision. Let’s say you wake up one morning and you now rank number one for a highly competitive keyword term, or you have optimised your PPC campaign so you’re getting a 100 percent ROI on your spend. It’s not just about the traffic you get to your site on any particular day, it’s more about using what you have today to build for the long-term. What happens when that number one ranking drops (and it will drop)? Can your business sustain that drop – what have you been doing with that traffic that can put you in a better position now as opposed to before you were even ranking for that term?
How would you define the difference between super affiliate and successful online marketer? Harry Bowden, Oddschecker
It is near impossible to directly compare a super affiliate with an online marketer. The main similarity is obviously that both are there to drive business for operators, but that is pretty much where the comparison ends. Online marketing is extremely broad and generally focuses on
the success of one operator within a space. A super affiliate is more focused on driving the entire industry forward and helping many operators grow along the way. Scott Logan, Bingoport
A super affiliate has a commitment to the niche(s) that they specialise in. This seems quite simple, but in our niche for example, we’ve seen affiliates from other sectors attempt to enter time and time again, some with quite significant budgets. Invariably, these very successful online marketers aren’t successful because they don’t have a commitment (or sometimes even an interest) in the niche they are entering.
Are super affiliates seen by operators in the gaming industry as a threat given their influence on the market? Harry Bowden, Oddschecker
There is certainly the potential for a super affiliate to be seen as a threat to operators, but you could argue that if this is the case then the super affiliate is not fulfilling its purpose. Ultimately, a super affiliate and its partners are reliant on one-another; it’s a case of ensuring that both parties see the relationship as ‘us’ as opposed to ‘them’. Oddschecker has been a major part of the industry since the very start of the ‘betting boom’ and, as such, has become an integral part of many operators’ acquisition and retention strategies. We work very closely with the majority of partners ensuring that we are providing the best service for both them and the user. I can’t talk about anything other than online bingo, and I’d have to say no: super affiliates in our space aren’t seen as a threat. I think they are seen as an annoyance sometimes, simply because of influence and if an operator is trying to gain a foothold in the market, but users at our site may not like the software they use or for other similar reasons; this Scott Logan, Bingoport
sometimes causes angst on the part of operators in that they can’t break onto affiliate sites. Sure, sometimes it comes down to money, but the very nature of a super affiliate is that they have been around for a long time, therefore, having many trusted operator partners, making it very difficult for any new operators to break onto the rotation for promotions and the like.
Finally, once an affiliate has reached the level of superaffiliate, how much of a challenge is it to remain there? Inevitably, the challenge to remain at the level of super affiliate once you have reached this point is huge. In a rapidly evolving industry like the gaming sector, there is no time to simply stand still and admire your efforts; super affiliates are arguably even more pressured to remain ahead of the trends and identify what needs to be done to stay at the top of the tree. The real challenge is to stay true to your core values as a business. Competitors will always be trying to change at a similar rate and introduce new features or ideas. When this happens, the important thing is to make good decisions, keep doing what you’re known for doing best and not spread yourself too thin, while identifying weaknesses and correcting them as swiftly as possible. With so much competition in a very congested marketplace, it is essential to build brand awareness and continue to deliver a consistently reliable and trustworthy site to the betting audience.
Harry Bowden, Oddschecker
Scott Logan, Bingoport
As the top few in any competitive field (be it in business, sport, etc) will attest: staying near the top is the most difficult thing. Our belief is that we must innovate or die. One must always be on top of what’s happening in the industry/niche in which one operates, and deal with these changes accordingly.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
61
FEATURE
BECOMING A SUPER AFFILIATE
A HOW-TO GUIDE
The super affiliate holds a clear distinction in the iGaming industry. This is a person that knows their trade inside out, and has been working to achieve this status for years. Defined by their success, the super affiliate is very independent, and has worked to build their own business, on their own terms. The super affiliate has become a desired position within the industry because of the many freedoms and flexibility they enjoy; they earn a very good living, after all. For the affiliate populace, the goal of many will be to obtain this ‘super’ status, but how? Harry Bienenstock, Affiliate Manager at Income Access, offers a few tactics that can be used to achieve super affiliate status. Keep up with the latest
industry developments In order to become a profitable affiliate, it’s essential to know the industry as a whole, and have an in-depth knowledge of the markets, products and services. Take the time to research niches and markets, and seek out new opportunities. Super affiliates are usually early adopters; they take part in new innovations and technologies, and are poised to take advantage of the latest trends and opportunities. To achieve this status, you’ll need to keep an eye out for new, emerging verticals, including a number that have recently complimented the traditional iGaming products and services, including binary options trading, forex, and social and mobile gaming.
Follow the leaders If you want to become a super affiliate, act like one. This can be accomplished by watching what existing super affiliates currently do. Once you’ve found the ‘supers’, pay close attention to their tactics. If you see one of their ads, note where it’s been posted, and then click on it. Don’t only consider what they’re selling, but place special attention on how they’re selling it. This tactic can be used for highperforming ads in addition to highperforming affiliates. Locate the sites in your vertical with the highest traffic volumes, and study them. Jot down what offers are being promoted, and again, how they’re being promoted. And remember, like all good affiliate marketing processes, this is an ongoing tactic. Once you reach
62
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
your goals, it doesn’t mean you can stop following the leaders.
Optimise your websites How are your websites performing? Super affiliates have maximised their online presence, with effective, optimised websites ensuring the highest possible conversion rates. This is essential. If you’re not sure how to assess your
“Super affiliates are not profitable in one vertical, they are profitable in many.” sites, keep in mind that you can always consult fellow peers or seek advice from experienced companies, who may shed light on the areas that need improvement. Depending on the outcome of your assessment, you may have to re-tool your sites, or rebuild them entirely. Be prepared to do so as the results can be very lucrative. Budget, of course, will always play a large factor in what you’re able to accomplish. Thankfully, optimisation is a long-term process, and your tactics can change as your budget grows.
Speed must be considered. Super affiliates have partly achieved their status because of the speed at which they operate. Quick industry development adjustments are crucial if you want to stay on top of the ever-growing iGaming industry. The skill to evolve and adapt will go a long way because it will permit you to promote trending and fluctuating industry offers.
Test your campaign Now that you’ve created your new content, landing pages, banners, etc, it’s time to test them. Testing is the key to maintaining high visibility online. The best way to go about this is to perform A/B testing. A/B testing compares two web pages and ranks them in terms of user interest. This is crucial when increasing a site or banner’s click-through rate (CTR). There are many advantages to having a strong CTR: your site/banner gets more clicks, you make more money, and your cost per click can decrease. As far as testing goes, create as many variations as your budget allows in discovering what will convert the best for your offers.
Scale your campaign Drive your campaign Take charge in driving traffic to your websites. With an assessment of your website and online strategy, and research into the methods of super affiliates, you now know what is needed to produce high converting sites. You can then launch, or re-launch, your campaigns making use of improved SEO, content, landing pages, calls-to-action, banners and more.
Your campaign is tested. You know what works and you’re starting to make measurable money with the offers that you’ve optimised. So how do you maximise this ROI? By scaling it. Scaling a campaign means to expand upon it, grow it, and give it more breadth. This can be accomplished by several methods: expanding upon keywords, going after new traffic sources, increasing bid prices on ads, more ad and
FEATURE
Generate new offers
landing page A/B testing (to push CTR even further), negotiating higher payouts (with your affiliate manager – use your increased campaign stats as leverage), and finally, trying different offers.
Expand into new verticals Scaling is not the final step to becoming a super affiliate, because super affiliates are not profitable in one vertical, they are profitable in many. With your original campaign creating bankable ROI, it’s time to take what you’ve learnt and apply it to other verticals. Top affiliates have multiple successful campaigns running simultaneously. In addition to maximising profits, should a campaign fall out, the others act as a failsafe so that your revenue stream is not cut altogether. Multiple campaigns mean more money, but they also ensure that there’s always a steady stream of income.
W H E
R
E
the iGaming industry, and you want to maximise your revenue intake, these are the essential methods that, with practice, will boost your campaigns, improve your results, and increase your commissions. Above all else, remember that the premier attribute all successful super affiliates possess is being proactive. Be hands-on about your obtaining your goals, and repeat these tactics until you’ve earned that super status.
Super affiliates aren’t only successful affiliates, they are also influential. Their status within their respective verticals and the iGaming industry altogether, allows them to create offers. Of course, any affiliate has the ability to create an offer; however, ‘supers’ typically have the clout to recruit the numbers needed to be successful at turning a profit. Many super affiliates create improved products that they themselves have once promoted. These self-generated offers will allow you to drive your own traffic, by recruiting other affiliates to do the promoting for you. In addition to the extra traffic, you’ll get a percentage of what these affiliates are earning from your offers. The tactics outlined in this article are fundamental to achieving super affiliate status. If you’re an affiliate marketer in
B
U
S
I
N
E
S
S
M
E
E
T
S
P
HARRY BIENENSTOCK is an Affiliate Marketing Manager at Income Access. As part of the Income Access team, he provides personalised support and strategies for clients.
L
E
A
S
U
R
E
Amsterdam Affiliate Conference 11th - 14th JUNE 2013 RAI EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTRE THIS EVENT WILL BRING YOU:
Over 2,500 expected delegates In-depth conference sessions covering the key issues facing the industry Insightful debate and learning from leading industry figures
Over 150 stands making it the biggest exhibition in the industry Unrivalled networking opportunities with 7 planned events Free networking mobile app
FR en EE
all i try for G dele aming gate s
More details including sponsorship packages, conference schedule, official hotels, all the parties and much more can be found on www.AmsterdamAffiliateConference.com
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
63
INTERVIEW
TAKING CARE OF AFFILIATE MATTERS This issue, iGB Affiliate speaks to Elen Garth, Head of Affiliates at Unibet, about the current market landscape, and how affiliates will always remain a vital part of the company’s online marketing strategy. Do you think now is a good time to be an affiliate in the gaming industry, considering the progress in regulation, technology and product offerings? The fast moving nature of this sector means that keeping up-to-date with the latest trends, products and technology is critical to success. As our industry develops, both operators and affiliate businesses require skill and agility to adapt to the new conditions. In most cases, it is much easier for affiliates to adapt to the changes as they tend to be small businesses of around one to ten people. It is certainly not too late to become an affiliate. But how successful affiliates will be depends on them; their foresight, dedication and understanding of the market and its trends. There being very strong competition in the affiliate area doesn’t make this job easier, however, a lot of niche product and platform areas still remain untapped. As a trend for countries to introduce national licences (known as the move from dot com to dot country) progresses, it has brought both challenges and opportunities for both parties. The legal, financial and logistical challenges of a move towards a dot country model have put pressure on many affiliates and smaller operators, but Unibet is well prepared to take advantage of these opportunities.
64
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
We never should think of market re-regulation as a negative change. It gives both affiliates and operators the opportunity to have access to all media, payment solutions and channels. But perhaps more importantly, the licences position operators more clearly as an alternative to the state monopolies or incumbent market leaders.
“We take care of you. We take care of your players. We make you money.” What sort of feedback are you getting from your Unibet affiliates about the state of the market at present – are there areas within the business that are doing better than others for your affiliates? The mobile channel is undoubtedly one of the most important areas for potential growth. Recent estimates have put global Smartphone users at more than one billion (Strategy Analytics, October 2012). It is a channel with extremely favourable growth prospects as the introduction of 4G technology will increase the speed of data services and increase the quality of the mobile user experience. Mobile as an acquisition channel has been a major challenge for many affiliates in the last year. However, the development and innovation in this area continues and we
see more and more successful examples of mobile-focused affiliates. We fully support our partners in their various mobile acquisition initiatives by being a leading gaming operator in this channel and constantly focusing on our mobile offering as this area starts to mature. In terms of how Unibet is responding to the pressures and dynamics of the current market – what types of deals are you offering to your new affiliates? As with most affiliate programs, Unibet’s preferred remuneration model is revenue share. Unibet offers up to 40 percent revenue share across all brands, products and channels. Size/percentage of the revenue share has been a hot topic of discussion during the last two years. It is no secret that operators are trying to reduce the size of revenue share and CPAs. However, we try to retain a fair commission structure based on a combination of player quality and propensity to cross sell those players. While smaller operators may initially offer more attractive deals, they simply don’t have a solid CRM/player retention infrastructure to derive the maximum value from the players over their lifetime. At Unibet, we invest heavily in player retention and with our diverse range of products we
INTERVIEW
are able to extend player lifetime and hone maximum value from players acquired via affiliate channels, obviously to the benefit of affiliates. With so many brands to choose from in today’s market across all products in the gaming sector, how do you ensure that you are attracting the right kind of affiliates to your program? Offering affiliates high converting marketing tools, good support, wide range of products helps Unibet to attract the right kind of affiliates. We are very local in everything we offer affiliates and players, and this is one of the key factors that allows Unibet to successfully work with affiliates from around the globe. We are lucky enough to be a well-established brand that obviously attracts ‘walk in’ affiliates. However, the task of acquiring new affiliates will always remain a large part of our job. Our existing affiliates have contributed significantly to the acquisition of new affiliates, in part due to the above average player value and, of course, the ten percent sub-affiliate commission Unibet offers. We all know affiliates discuss with each other what programs are performing well and which ones are not. As a proven and established operator that can clearly generate a good amount of organic traffic, how important are affiliates to your ability to acquire new customers? Online and affiliate marketing is extremely important to the Unibet Group in its drive to attract new visitors to the Unibet and Maria sites. We have a team of almost 30
people working and supporting affiliates on a daily basis. This includes specialist local and regional affiliate managers as well as a substantial central team taking care of the global affiliates. Affiliates are essential players in our business entity and we appreciate the role they are playing in the areas of acquisition and retention. And do you see this continuing in the future? There has been some discussion as to how relevant affiliates will remain to the bigger operators in the space – do you think there will be a place for affiliates with the bigger brands for the foreseeable future, or will their importance diminish? We don’t see this relationship changing any time soon. Affiliates always have been, and always will be an important part of Unibet’s online marketing strategy. How has 2013 been so far for Unibet? Have you had a successful year to date and has it followed expectations? The affiliate channel has exceeded our expectations and we keep on delivering very strong results. Industry commentators have suggested that certain established gambling markets in Europe and Scandinavia were reaching saturation point, but the reality is that the online market continues to grow, which is obviously a reflection of the affiliate channel as well. And further growth will continue as gambling moves from offline to online in newer markets and as consumers feel more at home in the digital world.
We have the Masters in Augusta starting literally as we are speaking, and this is a good example of a major sports event that will attract a lot of casual betting activity. What sort of promotions have you been focussing on for the major sports events? There are plenty of promotions we offer to customers and affiliates. Two of the most engaging are live betting championship and 0-0 Insurance. We’ve been running 0-0 insurance for two years now and everyone absolutely loves it. For the 20122013 Champions League, Unibet have an amazing offer which covers every match in the tournament, from the first round of the group stages all the way through to the final. Unibet refunds all losing Correct Score, Half Time/Full Time and First Goal Scorer, Last Goal Scorer bets on any Champions League match that finishes 0-0. And in terms of what you want to do with your affiliates over the coming year, what have you got planned that both existing and potential Unibet affiliates need to know about? We are planning to increase our activity in the UK and Australian markets as well as maintaining our leading position in our core Scandinavian/European markets. Our licences in Italy, Denmark, Belgium, France and Germany will, of course, assist in this. Finally, what message do you have for those affiliates that may be looking for a change of scene in the coming year – why should Unibet be a consideration for them? We take care of you. We take care of your players. We make you money.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
65
webmaster world
The Buzz About Bitcoins Michaela McNamara, Editor at CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com, looks into the trending world of Bitcoins, and the effect they could have on the online gaming industry of the future. In a surprising move that
Where do Bitcoins come from?
promises to set new standards for the online gaming industry, the start-up BitPay, a Bitcoin payment processor that bills itself as “PayPal for Bitcoins”, received half a million dollars in seed capital in mid-January from heavy-hitting investors such as Shakil Kahn, the founder of Spotify, and Barry Silbert, founder of SecondMarket. This move brings fantastic tidings for the online gaming industry, which has struggled to find reliable payment processors, especially in the United States, since Neteller exited the market in 2007.
Bitcoins are the brainchild of Satoshi Nakamoto, a shadowy figure whose true identity is not known. There’s speculation that Nakamoto is a Japanese national with a background in theoretical math, but that’s just speculation. What is known is that he/she/they introduced the digitally secure, untraceable, P2P currency that’s straight out of a science fiction novel back in 2009 and it’s gone ‘gangbusters’ ever since. Nakamoto’s original design calls for a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins (BTC) to be in circulation at any time, though they can be divided into infinite parts as users see fit. The coins themselves are complex mathematical formulas that are unlocked by BTC miners using powerful processors to record BTC transactions while earning Bitcoins. (Yes, this all sounds like sounds like something your college roommate dreamed up after eating mushrooms for the first time.) BTC are traded for real cash on currency exchanges similar to forex and their daily value fluctuates just like real currency. Because they are cryptographically protected and traded on P2P networks, tying BTC transactions to individuals is virtually impossible. If you’re thinking that BTC are the ideal currency for illegal transactions, you’re not alone.
What are Bitcoins? Bitcoins are a decentralised virtual currency that can be traded by anyone online. No ‘account’ is necessary to hold or transfer Bitcoins, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. Bitcoins stored in one account – like MtGox, a currency exchange market à la USD-EUR – can be transferred seamlessly to any other account in any quantity. It’s the technology behind Bitcoins that is particularly interesting, though; from crowd-sourced transaction verification to a fixed quantity of total available Bitcoins. Since Bitcoins can be bought, sold, transferred, or bartered anonymously, they prevent draconian anti-gambling laws, like those enacted in the United States, from having any enforcement ability. In essence, with the right infrastructure and support from online gaming sites, Bitcoins could be seamlessly transferred from one site to another or to a third-party payment processor (like BitPay) or to a marketplace where Bitcoins could be converted into USD or any number of other currencies (like MtGox).
66
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
The dark side of Bitcoins The anonymity of Bitcoins has created a thriving underworld in person-to-person money transfers. FBI and DEA reports suggest that online marketplaces exist for buying and selling drugs, guns, viruses, and even hit-men. Due to the nature of the currency, and, in actuality, speaking highly of its potential effectiveness in regulated industries like online gaming,
government agencies have found it impossible to track these transfers. In February 2011, an anonymous entrepreneur launched the Silk Road Marketplace, an illegal drug marketplace that utilises BTC and is hosted on a TOR P2P client. Merchants on the Silk Road openly sell everything from LSD to heroin in exchange for BTC. It’s believed that the Silk Road does as much as $1.2 million (USD) in business every month, but nobody can be certain. Though the Silk Road was down for nearly two weeks last autumn, it’s back in business now and law enforcement seems unable to shut it down; not through lack of trying.
How will this impact online gambling? Bitcoins are a fascinating phenomenon that could radically change the online gambling world, and all of online commerce, in a big way. Two Bitcoin-based online casinos, SatoshiDice and bitZino, are turning heads in the iGaming world after reporting bigtime Q4 earnings in 2012. According to self-reported financials, SatoshiDice’s profits from May to December came in at around $596,213 (US); while bitZino reported profits of $495,000 from June to December. Those are pretty impressive numbers from start-ups that operate well outside of the traditional Internet gambling space. For online casinos, Bitcoins are a discreet method of offering gambling to worldwide audiences without the hassles, and expenses, of working with traditional payment processors. Players who use Bitcoins at online casinos like bitZino, which offers all the standard table games, can lay down cash on the table just like they would at a land-based casino, without depositing funds with the site.
webmaster world
According to bitZino CEO, Larry Taad, that flexibility is very popular with players. “Users don’t have to trust us with their funds any longer than necessary. If you compare this to traditional online casinos, which can take weeks to send you your winnings, the benefit is obvious – frictionless, non-reversible, zero-fraud payments – you can’t ask for a more perfect payment system,” he said. Over 2,100 online merchants already support payment for goods or services through BitPay, which can be implemented on a website much like PayPal. With an extra $510,000 in seed capital, the BitPay service will have all the capital it needs to continue to expand the service and bring new merchants, like online gaming rooms, on board. So are there legitimate uses for BTC? That’s a question that doesn’t have a black and white answer. As it stands today,
Bitcoin casinos are operating in a legal grey area that may be tough for regulators to truly get a handle on. Casino operators who boast the technical knowhow can certainly set up BTC transactions, but they’ll never really know whether their players are legal or not. It’s a risky proposition that could easily turn bad.
Future trends The rise of Bitcoin casinos could produce some big shifts in the gambling industry as we know it. We see Bitcoins as a trend that will have drastic impacts for the future of the world. In the shortterm, it will make citizens of otherwise unregulated countries able to easily take part in the online gambling world once again. In the long-term, it will make the governments of the world less able to
control the monetary supply, leading to freer commerce and travel, and eventually, freer people.
MICHAELA MCNAMARA is Editor at CasinoAffiliatePrograms.com (CAP), the world’s largest online gaming affiliate marketing community, and the Internet’s primary location for online gaming brands and affiliate marketers to come together and do business. CAP is owned by Affiliate Media, Inc., an independent online publishing company focused solely on affiliate marketing. The company’s experts gather, create, and publish information about affiliate marketing and share it with the larger worldwide community to help affiliates better promote leading Internet brands worldwide (and profit by doing so).
INNE
R
W
We’re committed to bringing out the super affiliate in you
BEST AFFILIATE NETWORK
2011
JOIN THE INCOME ACCESS NETWORK TODAY +1 514 849 8595 info@incomeaccess.com www.incomeaccess.com
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
67
webmaster world
US Data Centre Since the US Department of Justice publicly reversed its position on the scope of the 1961 Wire Act in December 2011, conceding that it only reserved jurisdiction over sportsbetting, we have been reporting on various state activity with regards to the broadening of intra-state lottery and iGaming models. This issue, we see another patch of green on our US map as New Jersey finally steps up to the plate having signed through regulations legalising full-scale online gaming. Nevada: Green Regulated Gaming Type: Poker-only Operator Type: Applicants with existing land-based licence (open to foreign operators) Estimated Go Live Date: 2013. Nevada Governor, Brian Sandoval, furthered the potential scope of the state’s online poker industry by signing into law legislation that would allow it to enter into inter-state compacts with other US states in order to pool liquidity. The move is seen as crucial to the state’s ability to monetise its online economy due to its limited population. AG Burnett told iGaming Business in a recent interview that the delays in going live in Nevada was down to ‘uncertainty’ on the part of the operators, “and where there’s uncertainty, sometimes there’s hesitancy as well,” he explained. He did, however, assure that Nevada will be online this year: “I think that’s a definite,” he said. Illinois: Green Regulated Gaming Type: Online lottery Operator Type: Illinois Lottery controlled Estimated Go Live Date: Online Georgia: Green Regulated Gaming Type: Online lottery Operator Type: Georgia Lottery controlled Estimated Go Live Date: Online Delaware: Green Regulated Gaming Type: Full-service online gaming Operator Type: Centralised iGaming system via Delaware Lottery and operated by the three state casinos Estimated Go Live Date: End of summer, 2013. Delaware is going through an RFP process released on behalf of the State
68
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
Lottery that invites applications for the provision of the back-end technology platform and operations manager services. The Lottery hopes to have iGaming up and running by no later than September 30 of this year. The law also provides for the state to explore compacts with other states, a function also evident in the Nevada and New Jersey laws. Maryland: Green Regulated Gaming Type:Online lottery Operator Type: Maryland Lottery controlled Estimated Go Live Date: Imminent Michigan: Green Regulated Gaming Type: Online lottery Operator Type: Michigan Lottery controlled Estimated Go Live Date: Imminent New Jersey: Green Regulated Gaming Type: Full-service online gaming Operator Type: Atlantic City casinos with existing land-based licence Estimated Go Live Date: 2013. Finally, at the third attempt and after over two years of campaigning, New Jersey has passed its intra-state online gaming regulations into law. All parties are hopeful of a 2013 launch date after Governor Christie signed the bill at the end of February, having conditionally vetoed it earlier in the month. Intriguingly, the bill is absent of the ‘bad actor’ provision evident in bills in Nevada and Delaware which has ruffled a few feathers, especially with PokerStars hovering over a deal to become a permanent fixture in Atlantic City. Senators Ray Lesniak and Jim Whelan, Assemblyman John Burzichelli, and all of those who worked on bringing the state online have expressed their relief
Green
Online Legislation Enabled
Amber
Work in Progress/Under Consideration
Red
Undecided/Back to the Drawing Board
Blue
No Movement
Black
Prohibited/ Pending Prohibition
and delight that New Jersey is now free to move forward with regulated iGaming. California: Amber Present Status: There are three bills in the California Senate in 2013 that deal with some form of online gaming regulation. AB51 is the Internet Poker bill introduced by Senator Rod Wright that would limit online poker to the state and to those who have obtained a licence from the state. Only holders of existing land-based licences, including gaming tribes, can apply. Senator Correa’s SB678 is less detailed; in fact, the only details evident in the bill’s 14 lines of text is that Internet poker sites can be operated in California, the Gambling Control Commission is in charge, and people can apply. Senator Wright has also introduced SB190, a sportsbetting bill that would permit current land-based licensees to take wagers on non-Californian sports events (or teams), however, whether this will extend to the Internet is unclear, but is not ruled out. California will continue to be eagerly watched, being the fifth biggest economy in the world, but there remain many variables that could swing the iGaming argument in either direction. Pennsylvania: Amber Present Status: Pennsylvania now carries the mantle of being the second largest state gambling market in the US after seeing a
ota
webmaster world New York
Wisconsin Michigan Washington
Maine
North Dakota
Montana Oregon
New Vermont Hampshire
Minnesota Idaho
South Dakota
New York
Wisconsin
Massachusetts
Pennsylvania
Michigan
Wyoming
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Nebraska
Pennsylvania
Iowa
Nevada
Ohio Utah
Illinois
Delaware
Indiana
Maryland
Colorado California
Kansas
Missouri
Ohio
West Virginia
Virginia
Kentucky
North Carolina
Tennessee Arizona
New Jersey
Oklahoma New Mexico
Illinois
South Carolina
Arkansas
Indiana
Mississippi
Alabama
District of Columbia
Georgia
Louisiana Texas
West Virginia
Missouri
Kentucky
4.4 percent rise in gross casino revenue in 2012 to overtake New Jersey in the national standings. The signs appear to be positive in the Keystone State that it will be one of the next major jurisdictions to address the issue of online gaming having introduced a bill that would legalise online poker in the state. It would represent the largest populous state (to date) to regulate any form of gaming but costs could prove a barrier to entry for operators.
Arkansas
New York: Amber Present Status: As mentioned in State of the Union on page 46-47 of this issue, a nonbinding version of a budget bill containing a statement in support of online gaming has been passed in the state. New York was responsible, in collaboration with Illinois, for requesting clarification from the DoJ on the scope of the Wire Act that lead to the December 2011 opinion. The state is also in the process of establishing an online lottery system.
Mississippi
Louisiana
state under licence of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. There is also an online lottery bill in place although there is little information as to the support either bill has or will be able to generate.
Tennessee
Mississippi: Red Present Status: Having foolishly upgraded Mississippi from red to amber in the last issue, we are now downgrading the state once again after Bobby Moak’s all-new Mississippi Lawful Internet Gaming Act of 2013 died in session. The all-new gaming act’s similarity to last year’s House Bill 1373, which also died in session after only two weeks of consideration from the state’s Ways and Means Committee, probably didn’t help its cause, as feared.
Alabama Iowa: Red
Massachusetts: Amber Present Status: Senator Bruce Tarr has introduced S197 that would permit companies to offer online gaming in the
Florida
Present Status: After a period of hope that Iowa would be one of the forerunners of intra-state gaming in the US, we now know that the online poker bill that made it through sub-committee in February is officially dead for the year. Bill sponsor, Senator Jeff Danielson, said, “Iowa’s online poker bill did not make it past the committee calendar deadline this year in
the Senate. The House did not express a willingness to pursue it if the Senate passed it again. Therefore, it will not be taken up this year. I will continue to learn as much as I can about this important issue and advocate for policy in Iowa that is thoughtful and responsible. I still believe doing nothing by default does nothing to protect Iowa consumers or help our land-based casinos adapt to changes in business trends.”
North Carolina
South District of Columbia: Red Carolina
Present Status: Back to the drawing board Florida: Red Present Status: Back to the drawing board
Georgia
Connecticut: Red Present Status: Undecided Utah: Black Present Status: Prohibited Texas: Black Present Status: Texas remains in the ‘prohibited’ group as we are only dealing with state-level legislation, but the state has put forward plans that would allow it to optin to any federal law governing iGaming.
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
Florida
69
WEBMASTER WORLD
IGAMING DATA CENTRE
This issue’s Data Centre focusses on the latest report from information specialist, comScore. The company has kindly provided us with data that highlights the top five search engines in Europe, ranked by market share, its latest intelligence on Smartphone and tablet penetration, plus the top device manufacturers and operating systems in use throughout the Continent.
THE WHO’S WHO OF THE EU5 SMARTPHONE MARKET Top 5 Smartphone Handset Manufacturers (OEM)
SAMSUNG
Top 5 Smartphone Operating System (OS)
5%
15%
APPLE
3%
7%
32%
APPLE
7%
NOKIA
15%
HTC RIM
16%
SYMBIAN
50%
9%
RIM MICROSOFT
20%
21%
OTHER
OTHER
DEVICE SHARE OF PAGE VIEWS IN EUROPE
MOBILE AUDIENCE IN EU5 CROSSES 240 MILLION MARK Total Mobile Audience (000)
20 Percent of Page Views now from Mobiles and Tablets
EU5
Germany
France
Spain
COMPUTER 80%
61,000 49,500
United Kingdom
Italy
Rise of connected devices - a fifth of a page views in Europe are from mobiles and tablets
241,000
240
48,000 47,500
MILLION
35,000
NON-COMPUTER
20%
MOBILE
14.9%
TABLET
4.4%
OTHER
0.7%
DEVICE PREFERENCES THROUGHOUT THE DAY IN EUROPE
Share of device page traffic on a Typical Weekend
Most Weekend Tablet Usage Peaks At 9pm
70
PCS DURING THE DAY 12am - 10am
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
MOBILES
PEAK LATE
10am - 5pm
TABLETS POPULAR AT NIGHT 5pm - 12am
WEBMASTER WORLD
SMARTPHONE PENETRATION IN EU5 AT 57% Spain’s Mobile Audience Shows Highest Adoption of Smartphones
December 2012 was the first month all EU5 countries crossed the 50% mark for Smartphone penetration
64% 51%
53%
53%
66%
57%
EU5 AVERAGE
63,042
Ask Network
60,239
10.3 5.6
40,277
e y d rop urke olan T P
3.5 Unique Searchers (000)
Eu
11.8
YANDEX 10%
MAIL.RU 2%
BING 1%
103.8
93.4
115.5
105.5
118.2
117.4
118.2
125.9
124.0
131.0
127.3
l s k n UK gium land ance tuga pain Italy land rland ssia tria any rland ede rway mar l Fin Fr or S Ru Aus erm itze Sw No Den Ire ethe Be P G w N S
Share of searches
GOOGLE CAPTURES 86% OF THE EU SEARCH ENGINE MARKET GOOGLE 86%
138.8
160.8 138.4
23.7
46,680
31,043
242.7
66.9
89.6
Microsoft Sites
Searches per searcher
9.8
69,365
Yandex Sites
Wikimedia
2409
74,003
Amazon Sites
Yahoo! Sites
4.4
88,159
eBay
Mail.ru Group
115.0
89,853
133.6
388,519
UK Internet Users Searched 161 Times on Average During December Searches per Searcher
149.5
Google Sites Facebook.com
TURKEY LEADS THE WAY WITH MOST SEARCHES IN EUROPE
195.4
EUROPEANS SEARCH ON FACEBOOK, EBAY AND AMAZON, NOT JUST SEARCH ENGINES LIKE GOOGLE AND YANDEX
ASK 1%
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
71
MARKETPLACE
7314 bet365 affiliates (148x52+3mm). 24/11/2011 15:38 Page 1
Welcome to the MarketPlace listings section of iGB Affiliate magazine. All listings are taken from the 2013 version of our iGB Affiliate Directory; a 150 page guide to the affiliate programs and service providers who are currently active within the iGaming sector. To request a free copy of this publication or to have your company listed please contact Ed Grundy on Ed@iGamingBusiness.com or call +44 (0) 207 954 352.
Officially sponsored by
bet365affiliates.com www.gambleaware.co.uk
Commission365 www.commission365.com EnergyCasino.com
ADVERTISING, MARKETING & PR
CASINO AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Isle of Man Post Office
777Affiliates
www.gov.im/post
www.777affiliates.com
Lyceum Media
888
www.lyceummedia.com
www.888.com
Olympian
24Play.com
www.olympiangaming.com
www.e-play24.com
AFFILIATE NETWORK
32Red Affiliates
Income Access
www.32redaffiliates.com
www.incomeaccess.com
7Red
Betsson
www.7red.com
www.betsson.com
Aff Europe
TradeTracker
www.affeurope.com
www.tradetracker.com
Affiliates Star Venus
Liberty Slots
BINGO AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
www.affiliatesstarvenus.com
www.slotsvendor.com
770.com
Affiliates United
www.livepartners.com
Llama Gaming
www.affutd.com
www.llamagaming.com
All You Bet
Mansion (i-Affiliates)
www.allyoubet.ag/affiliates
www.iaffiliates.com
Dafabet Casino
Mojo
www.dafabet.com/casino
www.mojoaffiliates.com
Bet365
Mr Green
www.bet365.com
www.mrgreen.com
BetEnergy
Mybet
betenergy.com
www.mybet.com
888 www.888.com Affiliates United www.affutd.com Bet365 www.bet365.com BingoCams www.bingocamspartners.com Ladbrokes
www.energycasinopartners.com Europartners www.europartners.com Grande Vegas Casino www.grandevegasaffiliates.com iGamefriends.com www.igamefriends.com Intertops www.intertops.eu Jackpot Capital www.jackpotcapital.eu Ladbrokes www.ladbrokes.com
Betfair
Nordic Gaming
www.ladbrokes.com
www.betfair.com
www.nordicbet.com
Luckyjar Affiliates
BetVictor Casino
Paddy Power
www.luckyjar.com
www.victorsaffiliates.com
www.paddypower.com
Paddy Power
Brightshare
PAF
www.paddypower.com
www.brightshare.com
www.paf.com
PAF
Casumo
Referback
www.paf.com
www.casumoaffiliates.com
www.referback.com
StarGames
Cherry
Rich Club Affiliates
www.stargames.com
www.cherryaffiliates.com
www.richclubaffiliates.com
TradeTracker
Come On
Roller Casino
www.tradetracker.com
www.comeon.com
www.rollercasino.com 7314 bet365 affiliates (148x52+3mm). 24/11/2011 15:38 Page 1
Officially sponsored by
72
bet365affiliates.com iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
www.gambleaware.co.uk
MARKETPLACE
Slotastic!
DafaPoker
Affiliates United
www.slotastic.com
www.dafabet.com/poker
www.affutd.com
Slotland
Intertops
All You Bet
www.slotlandaffiliates.com
www.intertops.eu
www.allyoubet.org
Llama Gaming
Bet3000
SpringBok Casino www.springbokcasino.co.za Stan James www.stanjames.com Star Games www.stargamesaffiliate.com Trade Tracker www.tradetracker.com FINANCIAL SERVICES 24 Option www.24option.com Aff Europe
www.llamagaming.com Mybet www.mybet.com Nordic Gaming www.nordicbet.com Paddy Power
www.bet3000.com Bet365 www.bet365.com Coral www.coral.co.uk
www.paddypower.com
Dafa Sportsbook
PAF
www.dafabet.com/sports
www.paf.com
IAS Bet
PKR
www.iasbetaffiliates.com
www.pkr.com
Intertops
Stan James
www.intertops.eu
www.affeurope.com
www.stanjames.com
Neto Partners
Star Games
www.netopartners.com
www.stargames.com
Exbino
Trade Tracker
Llama Gaming
www.exbino.com
www.tradetracker.com
www.llamagaming.com
Trade Tracker
Winamax
Luxbet
www.tradetracker.com
www.winamax.fr
www.luxbet.com
LOTTERY AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
SKILL GAMING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Player’s Lottery www.theplayerslottery.com PAYMENT SOLUTIONS Intercash intercash.com Neteller www.neteller.com
Affiliates United www.affutd.com
Ladbrokes www.ladbrokes.com
Merdian Bet www.meridianbet.com
Bet365
Mybet
www.bet365.com
www.mybet.com
Betfair
Nordic Gaming
www.betfair.com BetVictor Sports www.victorsaffiliates.com
www.nordicbet.com Paddy Power www.paddypower.com
Best Pay Partners
iGame.com
www.bestpaypartners.com
www.igame.com
POKER AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
PAF
www.perhead.com
www.paf.com
Sportingbet
Star Games
www.sportingbet.com
888 Poker www.888.com Affiliates United www.affutd.com Bet365
www.stargames.com Trade Tracker www.tradetracker.com
PerHead
Stan James www.stanjames.com Topbetta
www.bet365.com
SPORTSBETTING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Buzz
888
TradeTracker
www.buzzsports.com
www.888.com
www.tradetracker.com
www.topbetta.com
7314 bet365 affiliates (148x52+3mm). 24/11/2011 15:38 Page 1
Officially sponsored by
bet365affiliates.com www.gambleaware.co.uk
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
73
WEBMASTER WORLD
TOP 100 GAMING SITES WORLDWIDE Rk
Name
URL
Games
Rk
Name
1
bet365
www.bet365.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Skill Games, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
51
Bovada
www.bovada.lv
URL
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
Games
2
The National Lottery UK
www.national-lottery.co.uk
Lottery, Mobile Lottery
52
Sportsbook.com
www.sportsbook.ag
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
3
King.com
www.king.com
Backgammon, Mahjong , Skill Games
53
Oanda - FXTrade
www.fxtrade.oanda.com
Forex, Mobile Forex
4
BetFair
www.betfair.com
Betting Exchange, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Betting Exchange, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Skill Games, Sportsbook
54
bwin France
www.bwin.fr
Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Poker, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
5
888 Casino
www.888.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Bingo, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
55
Casino Realis
www.casinorealis.com
Casino Games
6
William Hill
www.williamhill.com
Backgammon, Binary Options, Bingo, Casino Games, Forex, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile, Racebook, Rummy Games, Skill Games, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
56
Mecca
www.meccabingo.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Lottery, Mobile Bingo, Mobile Casinos
7
WorldWinner
www.worldwinner.com
Backgammon, Skill Games
57
Centrebet
www.centrebet.com
Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
8
IG Markets
www.igmarkets.co.uk
Forex, Mobile Spread Betting, Spread Betting
58
Illinois Lottery
www.illinoislottery.com
Lottery
9
TAB Sportsbet
www.tab.com.au
Racebook, Sportsbook
59
TwinSpires
www.twinspires.com
Racebook, Sportsbook
10
TAB Racing and Sports
www.tab.co.nz
Live/In-Play Betting, Racebook, Sportsbook
60
PKR
www.pkr.com
Casino Games, Mahjong , Mobile Poker, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
11
eToro
www.etoro.com
Forex, Mobile Forex
61
Betsson
www.betsson.com
Betting Exchange, Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Poker, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
12
SkyBet
www.skybet.com
Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
62
MyBet
www.mybet.com
Betting Exchange, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Poker, Sportsbook
13
Paddy Power
www.paddypower.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Poker, Racebook, Rummy Games, Skill Games, Sportsbook
63
Party Casino
www.partycasino.com
Backgammon, Casino Games, Poker
14
Casino.com
www.casino.com
Casino Games, Mobile Casinos
64
The Health Lottery
www.healthlottery.co.uk
Lottery
15
888 Poker
www.888poker.com
Poker
65
PlayMillion Casino
www.playmillion.com
Casino Games
16
My Lotto.co.nz
www.mylotto.co.nz
Lottery, Mobile Lottery
66
Forex.com
www.forex.com
Forex, Mobile Forex
17
Ladbrokes
www.ladbrokes.com
Backgammon, Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Skill Games, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
67
TheLotter.com
www.thelotter.com
Lottery
18
InstaForex
www.instaforex.com
Forex, Mobile Forex
68
Tipico Online Gaming
www.tipico.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Sportsbook
19
Game Duell
www.gameduell.com
Mobile Casinos, Skill Games
69
TVG Interactive Horseracing
www.tvg.com
Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
20
StarGames
www.stargames.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Poker, Skill Games
70
Markets.com
www.markets.com
Forex
21
Party Poker
www.partypoker.com
Poker
71
TotelFootball
www.totelfootball.com
Fantasy Sports
22
Sportingbet
www.sportingbet.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
72
Sports Interaction
www.sportsinteraction.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
23
Sportsbet
www.sportsbet.com.au
Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
73
24option
www.24option.com
Binary Options, Mobile Binary Options
24
Betfred
www.betfred.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Live Dealer, Mobile Lottery, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
74
Easy Forex
www.easy-forex.com
Forex, Mobile Forex
25
PokerStars.eu
www.pokerstars.eu
Mobile Poker, Poker
75
BetClic
www.betclic.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
26
Unibet
www.unibet.com
Backgammon, Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Poker, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Skill Games, Sportsbook
76
Gala Bingo
www.galabingo.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Mobile Bingo, Mobile Casinos
27
Coral
www.coral.co.uk
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
77
WPTpoker
www.wptpoker.com
Poker
28
Tatts
www.tatts.com
Lottery
78
GameColony.com
www.gamecolony.com
Backgammon, Mahjong , Rummy Games, Skill Games
29
Tombola
www.tombola.co.uk
Bingo, Lottery
79
LuxBet
www.luxbet.com
Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
30
Horse Player Interactive
www.horseplayerinteractive.com
Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
80
IASbet
www.iasbet.com
Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
31
Oz Lotteries
www.ozlotteries.com
Lottery
81
TradeRush
www.traderush.com
Binary Options
32
Jackpotjoy
www.jackpotjoy.com
Bingo, Casino Games
82
Sun Bingo
www.sunbingo.co.uk
Bingo, Casino Games
33
Rummy Circle
www.rummycircle.com
Rummy Games, Skill Games
83
Ladbrokes
www.ladbrokescasino.com
Casino Games
34
Pinnacle Sports
www.pinnaclesports.com
Casino Games, Sportsbook
84
PurePlay
www.pureplay.com
Poker
35
IG Index
www.igindex.co.uk
Mobile Spread Betting, Spread Betting
85
Stan James
www.stanjames.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
36
Atlantic Lottery
www.alc.ca
Bingo, Fantasy Sports, Lottery
86
JetBingo
www.jetbingo.com
Bingo, Casino Games
37
IBCbet
www.ibcbet.com
Sportsbook
87
AnyOption
www.anyoption.com
Binary Options, Mobile Binary Options
38
bet-at-home
www.bet-at-home.com
Casino Games, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook
88
188bet.com
www.188bet.com
Casino Games, Forex, Live/In-Play Betting, Poker, Sportsbook
39
TABOzBet
www.ozbet.com.au
Racebook, Sportsbook
89
Sky Vegas
www.skyvegas.com
Casino Games, Mobile Casinos
40
FanDuel
www.fanduel.com
Fantasy Sports
90
UFX Markets
www.ufxmarkets.com
Forex
41
Full Tilt Poker
www.fulltiltpoker.com
Mobile Poker, Poker
91
Fonbet
www.fonbet.com
Binary Options, Poker, Sportsbook
42
LEONbets.com
www.leonbets.com
Casino Games, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
92
Blue Square
www.bluesq.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Skill Games, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
43
SBOBET
www.sbobet.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Sportsbooks, Racebook, Sportsbook
93
Prestige Casino
www.prestigecasino.com
Casino Games
44
bwin Spain
www.bwin.es
Bingo, Casino Games, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
94
betboo
www.betboo.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
45
bwin
www.bwin.com
Backgammon, Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mahjong , Mobile Casinos, Mobile Poker, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Skill Games, Sportsbook
95
Ava FX
www.avafx.com
Forex, Mobile Forex
46
XForex
www.xforex.com
Forex
96
Telegraph Fantasy Football
fantasyfootball.telegraph.co.uk
Fantasy Sports
47
BetVictor
www.betvictor.com
Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Mobile Casinos, Mobile Racebooks, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Racebook, Sportsbook, Spread Betting
97
BetOnMarkets
www.betonmarkets.com
Forex
48
Play Now
www.playnow.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Lottery, Poker, Sportsbook
98
Sky Poker
www.skypoker.com
Poker
49
Ace 2 Three
www.ace2three.com
Rummy Games
99
Blackpool Club
www.blackpoolclub.co.uk
Casino Games, Mobile Casinos
50
Plus500
www.plus500.com
Forex, Mobile Forex
100
Expekt
www.expekt.com
Bingo, Casino Games, Live/In-Play Betting, Mobile Sportsbooks, Poker, Sportsbook
Data provided by Casino City press ●●Traffic rankings indicate relative popularity of the 100 most popular iGaming sites offering real-money wagering and are based on historical web usage of a panel of nearly 20 million users over a 3-month period prior to publication.
●● The rankings are estimates based on panel usage and should not be considered absolute ranking values. ●● Only the top 5% of all iGaming sites are listed. For detailed, current, accurate information on 2,500 iGaming sites and 2,000 iGaming portal sites, along with rankings of the top 1,000 iGaming sites and the top 1,000 iGaming portals, directories of software providers, other suppliers, regulatory jurisdictions, and more, the latest edition of Casino City’s iGaming Business Directory is indispensable. View sample pages at www.casinocitypress.com
74
iGB Affiliate APRIL/MAY 2013
bet365 Affiliates Sportsbook 210x297_1 04/04/2013 18:32 Page 1
www.gambleaware.co.uk