GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 10 - Sept 2009

:: GPWA Times still only speak English; the problem is justabouteveryone inAsiaIcomeintocontactwith speaksEnglishbetter thanme. The people in Asia are on the whole fantastic. Theyarehard working, respectful of other cultures and love to have fun – a perfect character mix for the Bodog brand. Then there is always the food. The Asian market has al- ways been somewhat of a challenge for online gam- bling brands that have traditionally focused on theUSA and Europe.Why? What are themajor differ- ences? What are the big- gest challenges? The Asian market is huge – sometimes people forget this– and com- panies need to focus on a particular area and do this well. Traditionally many of the most successful Asian bookmakers have focused on the creditmarket, relying on sophisticated agent net- works tomarketandconduct the business on the ground. I donot believe anyWestern bookmaker will successfully break into this type of busi- ness. Thegoodnews is that asmore and more Asians move into the middle classes and have access to fast, reliable Internet connections, they will not want to transact with underground agents. This emerging middle class is our target market, one in which I am convinced we will succeed, especially given the proven strengths the Bodog brand has are online marketing and P.R. In any region where legislation is still evolving the same challenges face all legitimate bookmakers:marketingyourproductand providing fast, efficient payment back to your customers…areasweexcel in. How did youmeet Calvin Ayre? It is common knowledge that he really enjoys spending time in Asia. How oftendoyouseehim?Towhatextentis he involvedwithBodog88branding? I firstmet Calvin for a breakfastmeeting at a casino in Macau. It was a nerve- rackingexperiencemeeting the creatorof one of the world’s strongest brands, and for once Iwas lost forwords. I seeCalvin on his trips to Asia as the Ambassador for the Bodog brand; he obviously takes an interest in howwe are delivering the brand values to Haydock’s customers. For the brand to have value around the world there needs to be a consistency of delivery from all the brand licensees of the key values, fun, entertainment and great customer service. Tell us about Manila, the location of the Haydock headquarters. What is it like living there?What is it like runningacompany fromthere?What aresomebenefitsandshortcomings? Manila isagreat city,with friendlypeople and lots to do in the evenings. Add in a large number of betting and gaming professionals and you have a nice place to live and work. It is a good place to run a business; we have fantastic offices, excellent support from the local regulator and a good pool of talented people to recruit fromanda fantastic teamworking here. Tell us more about Hay- dock, an online gambling operation you have been running out of Asia since 2006. What is www.9play . com? Does this brand have anything to do with Bodog88? Haydock is the li- censeholderandwasoriginal- ly set up to exploit opportuni- ties in the betting and gaming market in the region. Starting from scratch thecompanyhad to develop a new brand and 9playwas chosenas thebrand name. We became aware of the opportunity to license the Bodog brand, and honestly, it was anobrainer.Herewehad theopportunity to tradeunder one of the best-known brands in the industry with a great reputation for honesty and trust in amarket where these attributes arekey to success. You have stated that the synergiesbetweentheHay- dock team and the Bodog brand are “tremendous.” Whydoyou thinkHaydock is such a good fit for the Bodog brand? At Haydock webelieveweare in theenter- tainment business, delivering benefits to our customers by offering great products and service to peoplewho are looking for fun and value. “Work hard, play hard” is a famous Bodog tagline – one we happily embracehereatHaydock. How is Bodog Asia different from the other Bodog brand licensees? Are you in close contact with Keith McDonnell andAlywnMorris,theEu- ropean-facingandU.S.-facing licens- ees? As oneof the licensees of theBodog brand,we arekeen to ensure that thekey brand values aremaintained and consis- tently delivered across the globe (as are theother licensees).Assuchweobviously have an interest inwhat the other brand licensees are doing. Also as one of the newest licensees of theBodogbrand, it is good for us to learn from the experiences of theothers. Bodog.com will be the common portal any customer in theworld canuse; when customers type this into their browser theywillbedirected to the relevantbrand “Haydock’s objective is to be the largest online provider of betting and gaming in Asia. Right now I can’t give you a definitive time line but I am convinced that with the strength of the Bodog brand behind us we’ll get there.” – Ian Dunning Bodog shooting for the stars 45