GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 19 - February 2012

T his is our 19th issue, and it will be distributed in London at two great industry events – January 24-26 at the ICE Affiliate Zone and January 27-29 at LAC. We’re looking forward to seeing you at one or both of these shows, the first major get-togethers of 2012. Thanks in large part to what the U.S. Department of Justice announced at the end of 2011, there will definitely be a lot to talk about! Our cover story, on fractured online gaming markets around the world, comes in six pieces: Vin Narayanan, Anna Sainsbury, Frank Pracukowski and I. Nelson Rose discuss different aspects of the U.S. side of the story, while Yehoshua Gurtler (“Thanks for nothing!”) and Melanie Ellis recap some of what’s been going on in the EU and the U.K. Also in this issue: we reveal the interesting and sometimes surprising results of our Second Annual Member Survey, Sinead Lambert tells us what’s hot in sports betting, Paul Reilly and Gary Beal share innovative SEO strategies, Jeremy Enke offers valuable tips for choosing new poker programs, Jason Rosenberg and ClaireWellard show how private tournaments can increase your traffic, the camera of Alex Pratt takes us on a tour of Barcelona, and we say farewell to beloved GPWA member Pat Chapdelaine (giggles), who passed away in October. In addition, be sure to check out this issue’s two affiliate manager interviews, five affiliate interviews and the Departments – the latest industry news, numbers, notable quotes, an updated list of GPWA sponsors, the cartoon caption contest, theWall of Shame and our calendar of upcoming industry happenings. As always, let me close with a reminder. If you haven’t done so already, subscribe now to the GPWA Times Magazine at gpwatimes.com. And one final word – my New Year’s advice to fellow webmasters around the world: Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a wild regulatory ride in 2012! Sincerely, Michael A. Corfman GPWA Executive Director LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR GPWA Executive Director: Michael Corfman Marketing Director: Andrea Mullaney ProgramManager: Steven Corfman ForumModerator: Anthony Telesca Membership Manager: Nancy Troy GPWA Times Magazine Managing Editor: Vin Narayanan Senior Editor: Aaron Todd Associate Editor: Dan Igo Copy Chief: Bill Riley Designer: George Choi Advertising To advertise in the GPWA Times, please e-mail: sales@gpwa.org Subscriptions For a FREE subscription to the GPWA Times Magazine, visit: gpwatimes.com ISSN 1941-9872 14 Cover Story: Fractured Markets – The one-market dream for the U.S. and Europe is shattered Industry experts look at what happened – and what’s next • News Analysis, by Vin Narayanan • GettingReadyfortheU.S.Market,byAnnaSainsbury • You Don’t KnowWhat You Don’t Know, by Frank Pracukowski • A Present from the DOJ: Internet Lotteries (and Poker?) Are Legal, by I. Nelson Rose • Thanks for Nothing, by Yehoshua Gurtler • Changes Are Coming to the U.K. Online Gaming Market, by Melanie Ellis ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 8 What’s Big in 2012, by Sinead Lambert 10 Barcelona in Photos 42 Five Tips for Choosing New Poker Affiliate Programs to Work with in 2012, by Jeremy Enke 44 Adding Tournaments to Your Arsenal Is Good for Business, by Jason Rosenberg and Claire Wellard 48 Social Media SEO – Google’s G+, +1 and SEO, by Gary Beal 75 In Memoriam – Pat Chapdelaine (giggles) DEPARTMENTS 4 Webmaster News 6 By the Numbers 7 Cartoon Caption Contest 47 Event Calendar 54 Affiliate Interview Series 68 Affiliate Manager Interviews 72 GPWA Sponsors 76 APCW’s Wall of Shame 50 How to Position a Brand-New Site on Google Page 1 in Under TwoWeeks Paul Reilly shows us what it takes to go froma standing start to page-one ranking in an amazingly short amount of time. Hint: you need links! 40 Second Annual GPWA Membership Survey Whether looking back or looking ahead, cautious optimism continues to be the prevailing sentiment among our members. See what people are saying about our industry and their place in it. No Yes