GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 1 - May 2007

Affliate Program Manager Interview Series 29 BrightShare’s Apter Man Of Few Words Ll oyd, please tell us a little bit about your b ackground. My background is in accounting, in vestment banking, finance, and marketing m anagement. I have a Bachelor’s degree in A ccounting and a Master’s degree in Business Management. In my previous position, I was th e Vice President of Marketing and Finance fo r an Israeli manufacturing and export c ompany. I’ve been managing BrightShare fo r four years. N ow tell us about BrightShare. B rightShare is the exclusive affiliate p rogram of the Jackpot Factory G roup, one of the most respectable a nd established gaming groups on th e Internet. The Jackpot Factory G roup was established in 1999 a nd is comprised of All Slots, A ll Jackpots, First Web Casino, a nd the Wild Jack Gaming Portal of fering Wild Jack Casino, Wild Ja ck Poker Room, and Wild Jack Mobile Casino – all in one. The Ja ckpot Factory boasts over $5 bi llion in payouts to date, over 3 00 download and 135 flash g ames per casino, and the most e xciting promotions on the Web! B rightShare Affiliates can choose fr om either a six-level revenue e arnings model earning up to 40% lif etime commissions (the highest c ommission in the Microgaming w orld) on the gross revenues or re ceive their own tailored CPA p rogram. Si nce passage of the UIGEA, w hat has changed and how has B rightShare adapted? While we ar e continuing to support our affiliates in the m arket, we are working aggressively to enter ot her markets. Currently, we have a full- se rviceGerman casino, www.wildjack.de, and ar e working with our affiliate partners to get in to the next three strongest markets, which ar e the other English-speaking countries – Canada, the U.K., and Australia. In the n ext few months we will have multiple roll- o uts of other language Web sites, software, a nd support. We are continuing to work w ith our existing market affiliate Pprtners by s upporting them in all our current markets of a ctivity, while also giving them the tools they n eed to enter new markets. H ow do you approach working with portal w ebmasters? Si mply and without too many words. Letting th em know that we are interested in exploring th e possibilities of working with them, and th en waiting for them to reply and taking it fr om there. What percentage of your business is directly attributable to affiliates? 1/3 and growing. Affiliate marketing is the most natural and effective way of doing business online and will continue to grow, becoming more and more an integral part of how we do business online. What has the withdrawal of NETeller meant to the industry and BrightShare? The NETeller pull-out was a big blow, but the market is still quite active. We are, of course, watchi ng carefully for all new developments and w ill keep our affiliate partners posted of a ny and all changes. What do you hope to accomplish being a GPWA sponsor? Support the GPWA and t he online gaming affiliate community. Increa se the brand awareness of BrightShare a nd the Jackpot Factory casinos. Communica te openly with affiliates to increase our clien t’s and the affiliates’ busine ss opportunities and revenues. I think it is very important f or affiliates to communicate th eir needs to us. From this, w e interpret the market needs a nd will always try to act on them. What advice would you give to new would-be gaming affiliate s? Focus on what you are good at and outsource the rest. Go f or one country/language at a tim e and systematically cover a ll major countries/languages. Sta rt by focusing on the languag es and cultures that you feel y ou understand the best. But fir st, first, first, decide where a nd how you are going to get playe rs before you start building W eb sites. Get used to very little sle ep and, of course, best of luck! Lloyd Apter Position: Director with the BrightShare Network Favourite Sports: “Hiking, mountain biking, tennis, soccer, and I used to play rugby.” If you could go back in time, where would you go? “The beginning of time. I would love to see how it all happened. Life is amazing and I believe that we haveaveryimportantcontributiontomaketoourUniverse, butweliveinveryconfusingtimes,somaybegoingbackto the beginningwould helpmake things clearer!” Favourite Places: “The river valley underneathmy home with my two dog friends. The Greek Islands are absolutely amazing, the best place by far. I love visiting places where people have colorful cultures and show their pride in the beauty of their unique styles of living.” “The Red Bull cans are firmly wedged, I am afraid; I struggle finding hats that fit these days!” Overview BrightShare is the exclusive affiliate program of the Jackpot Factory Group. The Jackpot Factory Group was established in 1999 and is comprised of All Slots, All Jackpots, First Web Casino and the Wild Jack Gaming Portal offering Wild Jack Casino, Wild Jack Poker Room, and Wild Jack Mobile Casino all in one. BrightShare guarantees professional, friendly & responsive affiliate support, accurate reporting and stats, constant evaluation & implementation of new & innovative ideas, ongoing communication with each affiliate, varied payment, top quality promotional banners & content and unmatched commitment to results. Software Platform: Microgaming Brands: All Jackpots Casino, All Slots Casino, First Web Casino, Wild Jack Casino, Wild Jack Poker “When e-mailing affiliates, I keep it simple, without too many words!” GPWA TIMES | BRIGHTSHARE | Llyod Apter