GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 13 - June 2010

TheGPWATimesMagazine WorldCupRoundTable By Gary Trask E very four years, the World Cup is one of the most anticipated events on the planet, and this year’s tournament will be no differ- ent. Beginning June 11, the quest for 32 nations to capture the coveted title will begin and theworldwill bewatch- ing…literally. In2006, an estimated715millionpeople watchedthefinalmatchbetweeneventu- al champion Italy and runner-up France. When that many people are paying at- tention to one single event it can mean bigbusiness for thoseofus in theaffiliate marketing industry. Aswe inch closer to the start of this year’s WorldCup inSouthAfrica, theGPWATimes satdownwithtwomenwhowillhaveavest- ed interest inthepopularityoftheevent. Matija Vorgic – otherwise known as “buyonaut” on the GPWA forums – is a sports-betting affiliate who operates the sites Bet2win.eu.com, Kladionicasport.com and Freebets.uk.com. The 38-year-old is based in Dubai and has worked in the af- filiatemarketing industry for the last four years.Theothermemberofour impromptu “World CupRound Table” is Dean Leyland, theSeniorOnlineAcquisitionsExecutivefor Totesport Affiliates inWigan, U.K. The 25- year-oldLeyland isasix-yearveteranofthe industry. Both men agreed to speak with us re- garding how their respective ends of the business will use theWorld Cup to gener- ate traffic, how their customers typically wager on the event andwhat teams they thinkwillmakesomenoiseoncethegames commence. Here ishowourconversationwent: As farasevents thathelpgeneratenew customersandgrossamountofwagers, wheredoes theWorldCupstand? Matija: The World Cup is the biggest event in football, worldwide. Even peo- ple that usually don’t follow football get engaged in the event, especially if their country is taking part. Football-related traffic increases by at least 50% percent and perhaps more as the event is going on. After experiencing Euro 2008, I’m sure theWorld Cup will be excellent for sports-bettingaffiliates. Dean: This year’sWorldCup is expected to be THE biggest event in terms of cus- tomer acquisition and turnover we have ever seen. Online betting has really come of age since the lastWorldCupwith com- panies more geared to accepting world- wide traffic for a worldwide event. For 20 The GPWA TimesMagazineWorld Cup Round Table