GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 19 - February 2012

AGE: 38 HOMETOWN: Szczecin, Poland LIVINGIN: Warsaw / London FAVORITWE FOOD: Tatar (raw minced meat + raw egg + raw onion + pickles) MUSTREAD BOOK: The Magus, by John Fowles SITES: kasyno.pl hazardowo.com jednoreki.pl Are you a full-time online gambling af- filiate, or do you hold down another job as well? I am a consultant and part-time manager with an international technology company with a branch in Poland, and this takes up 80 percent of my time. The remaining 20 percent I try to dedicate to consulting for Lazy River Group – a com- pany which owns gambling affiliate web- sites in Polish. It probably won’t be a sur- prise to say I want to make it 100 percent in the future, but with the current state of affairs in this market, it is a risky bet. What do you like about the industry? It has to be that certain kind of day-to-day unpredictability of the business. I believe we all (affiliates) have certain gambler’s DNA encoded inside. Sure, I learned soon enough not to gamble excessively myself, but I love the thrill of checking my stats in the morning – even if the long-term re- sults are pretty stable and predictable. What don’t you like about the indus- try? The legal environment, for sure, at least in Poland. Banning is not the way to go, unless you want to protect your mo- nopoly. The same rule goes for gambling as for drugs, religion, music, literature, sex, video games – whatever you want to occupy your mind with. Regulate it wisely, profit from it and make your voters happy – that’s the way I see it. What surprises you most about the in- dustry? The number of affiliate managers who still believe in the magic powers of a flashy ad banner. You posted about a year ago that op- erators and players alike seem to be moving away from the “welcome bo- nus” promotion. Do you think this trend is continuing? What impact, if any, will it have on affiliates? I firmly believe that the extreme “welcome bonus” formula has worn out over the years. It is nothing but a trap for first depositors and something that can put them off for good. I might be a dreamer but I want to conduct business by recommending solid, modest opera- tors who don’t give away fake fortunes but instead offer top-notch service and enter- tainment, making people come back for more. My top-performing operator offers no welcome bonus at all, and I am happy to place him with my top spots. This busi- ness is NOT about gaining, it is all about maintaining. Then again, we all know that the fish goes for the bait – we just have to be reasonable with it. Your Kasyno.pl site has an appealing design with online casino reviews and news. How much time do you spend working on content compared to the amount of time you spend designing your sites? I guess there are two kinds of affiliates in this business – those coming from an SEO background and those with a writing/publishing background. I count myself among the latter, so I always put a lot of effort and attention into the way my websites look and speak. Kasyno.pl is a premium domain which deserves proper design – and it still could be better. I believe my job is to convince my visi- tors that gambling online is just as safe and normal a thing to do as shopping at Amazon or posting on Facebook – hence the design and content, which should be flawless and professional. Yes, I spend a lot of time on design and tweaks, whether it is text, screenshots, actual testing of the casinos, etc. I just want to be honest with my readers and give them proper advice on how to gamble safely online. 59