GPWA Times - Issue 20 - March 2012

W elcome to the 20th issue of the GPWA Times Magazine ! This issue will be distributed at several key industry events, including iGaming Business France in Paris, the eGR Power 50 and Power Affiliates Summits in London, the Bullet Business Bingo Summit in London and GiGSE in San Francisco. In our cover story, Aaron Todd brings us up to date on the increasing sophistication and rapid growth of live dealer gaming, a market that was worth $18.7 billion in 2008 and is projected to balloon to $40.8 billion in 2012 – and a market with very high player retention and conversions. Also in this issue: John Ekman explains why SERP shouldn’t be your only concern when working to enhance your Google rank, Paul Reilly offers tips for dealing with the filters and penalties associated with link buying and selling, we give you an inside look at our January trip to London and Sarah Robertson shows us that when it comes to player promotions not all verticals are created equal. Then we have three variations on the same theme: Martin Owens makes the case for state rather than federal regulation of online gambling in the USA, Sanford I. Millar discusses how U.S. online gambling could be taxed, and Vin Narayanan reluctantly comes to the conclusion that it’s going to be a bit of a wait before widespread regulation of any sort becomes a reality. Rounding out this issue, Hai Ng talks about cyber security and Jeremy Enke emphasizes the importance of brand recognition for online poker. And don’t miss our two affiliate manager interviews, five affiliate interviews and the Departments – industry news, numbers, notable quotes, updated list of GPWA sponsors, cartoon caption contest, a visit to the GPWA forums,Wall of Shame, and our calendar of industry happenings. This issue also includes a list of the affiliate sites that have met the qualifications for displaying the GPWA Seal of Approval since May of last year. A total of 369 seals have been awarded in that time span. There are now 2,386 sites across 60 countries that carry the seal! Sincerely, Michael A. Corfman GPWA Executive Director LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR GPWA Executive Director: Michael Corfman ProgramManager: Steven Corfman ForumModerator: Anthony Telesca Membership Manager: Nancy Troy Marketing Director: Andrea Mullaney 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 8 Is Your Aim for a Google Top Spot Hurting Your Business? John Ekman explains how pursuing a rank-only strategy might actually end up sending fewer visitors to your site. ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 10 How to Fix Penalties and Become a Fearless SEO, by Paul Reilly 12 London in Photos 22 Driving Player Deposits through Targeted Promotions, by Sarah Robertson 34 Evaluating Brand Recognition When Choosing Poker Affiliate Programs, by Jeremy Enke DEPARTMENTS 3 Event Calendar 4 Webmaster News 6 By the Numbers 7 Cartoon Caption Contest 44 GPWA Sponsors 50 Affiliate Interview Series 62 GPWA Seals 64 Affiliate Manager Interviews 68 From the GPWA Forums 72 APCW’s Wall of Shame 38 Cover Story: Lower Margins? Maybe. Higher Rollers? Definitely. Aaron Todd takes a good look at how the rapid growth of live dealer games is altering the landscape of online gambling – what was once a niche market has now gone mainstream. 26 Eye on the USA In a three-piece series, Martin Owens sees U.S. states adopting Internet gambling before the federal government, Sanford I. Millar dissects the two model proposals for taxing Internet gambling in the United States, and Vin Narayanan explains why he’s pessimistic that things will move quickly on either front. 48 Good Security Is a Competitive Advantage Hai Ng argues that companies need to change how they think about security to decrease their chances of becoming victims of a security breach.