GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 13 - June 2010

AARONO’SULLIVAN | JackpotGames You’re a serious veteran of the industry. What makes Jackpot Games different? To start it’s backed by a leading European parent companywithmore thana decade of experience in live video andmobile solutions, including a unique smartphone casino prod- uctandaSkychannel.We feel like we have the best of both worlds: some fresh and truly different ideas from the parent company, together with a team of experi- enced gaming industry profes- sionals who, while embracing the fresh approach, are able to avoid the mistakes often made by new outfits trying their hand at the gaming industry for the first time. With the affiliate pro- gram, it’s a little more traditional but with a few personal touches that I wanted to adopt on taking the role. Ex- perience has taught me that affiliate marketing is about trust, transpar- ency andpersonal, flex- ible business relation- ships. So I made sure that the program uses a recognized, trusted platform (provided by NetRefer) that isable to adapt to the requirements of dif- ferent affiliates. It is that level of flexibility in the program that, in myopinion, separatesus fromour competitors. In termsof transparency: thepro- gramhasnoinactivityclauses,and it has realistic commission tiers that go up to 40 percent. And the best part is that youdon’t need to have net revenue figures of £15k to breach that second level per- centage figure!Naturally, it’sonly fair that affiliates can contact the team foracompletebreakdownof their earnings, too. GoldenDerby is one of themore populargamesat JackpotGames. What is Golden Derby? And why do you think it is so popular? Golden Derby is Jackpot Games’ virtual horseracing game. I think the answer lies in the game’s graphics, which really are first- class. Combined with a simple betting slip, generous odds and enough detail for even the most ardent racing punter, and it all makes Golden Derby top gam- blingentertainment. Jackpot Games is currently a no- download casino. Are there any challenges in getting people to playat no-download casinos that other properties don’t face?Or is iteasiertogetplayers iftheydon’t have to download something? The traditional view is that the casual player will convert more readilyandplaymore if thegames are available instantly, whereas the more serious, dedicated ca- sino player prefers downloads and thebettergraphicsassociated with them. In regard to the lat- ter point, I don’t think this is the case. I believe it’s simply because instant play games haven’t had a dedicated casino home and, up until now, havebeenpromotedas additional options for players on sportsbooks or poker sites. Also, with ever-improving Flash tech- nology there is no compromise in game quality between instant and download versions, andwith high-speed Internet bandwidth now available to the majority of players around the world, there is little or no lag between clicking andplayingaFlash-basedgame. AtJackpotGameswewillbeoffer- ing the full casino servicewith all thebenefitsof instant-playgames. To give theusermaximum choice we’re also looking at a download- able version of the casino in the very near future. Yes, that was blatant product promotion! If JackpotGamesdiscoverssome- one is spamming to promote Jackpot Games, what steps will be taken to stop the spamming? E-mail marketing is an accepted part of the affiliate industry, but there is absolutely no place for spammers at Jackpot Games.We will suspend payment and ulti- mately ban those who conduct unethical e-mail marketing cam- paigns, as is stressed inour terms and conditions. Oneway to keep affiliates happy istopaythemontime.Whatsteps has your program taken to en- sure that they’ll bepaidon time? And when do your payments go out? We have accounts withma- jor payment gateways, including Moneybookers and Neteller, and we’re always looking to increase our e-wallet solutions. We also havetraditionalbankingsolutions throughwire transfers. However, the importancewithwhichwe re- gardaffiliateandplayerpayments can be best judged by our parent company’sacquisitionofYesPay- ments, a fast-growing Internet Payment Service Provider that is targeting the global market. This will provide Jackpot Games with auniqueplatform tooffer reliable and quick payments, and allow us to pass on savings to affiliates and players. We pay affiliates in full within sevenworking days of anew calendarmonth. How longdoyougiveyourself for responding to e-mail? And what e-mail management tips can you offer? Imake responding toaffili- atesmy toppriorityandwillwork throughout the day on replying if needbe,with the exceptionof the period around payments. Nor- mallyaffiliatesdon’tminda short delay then. As for e-mail management: the best tip I canoffer is to set up fold- “Experience has taughtme that affiliate marketing is about trust, transparency andpersonal, flexiblebusiness relationships.” 68 AffiliateManager Interview Series Due to space constraints,we couldnotprint the interview in itsentirety.The complete textwill bepostedatgpwa.org.