GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 22 - October 2012

How important is current content to a sports betting portal? People visit sports betting websites to get information about bookmakers, deposit options and betting in general. For current content, they’ll rely on news sites, and you can’t really match the quality of those sites unless you have good journalists with good connections. It’s better not to do it unless you can do it well. You see, the first time when some news portal publishes a story about Messi scoring four goals and you don’t, you’ve lost. Current content in sports betting is a Pandora’s Box. If you decide to be up-to-date on everything, the work never ends and you’ll burn out sooner or later, and people will still get most of their information from professional news websites that have journalists, connections, insiders and opinion makers. Many websites delegate content production to tipsters, though that usually spells low quality. Picks are also a double-edged sword; your reputation may rise if you’re good, but you can ruin your entire website if you have a bad month. Current content in sports betting is something which needs to be thoroughly thought through before you begin. Creating news is a whole different ball game, though there is a golden middle. You need to focus on a specific sport or league, and write good articles about that. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, or you’ll regret it. How successful were you in finding customers to buy content related to Euro 2012? Very successful. We had almost more customers than we could handle. Since my team and I are also publishing a local sports betting magazine, we already had all the in- depth information about the tournament. It made writing unique articles for each client much easier. I believe the articles were good enough to be popular despite competing with hundreds of professional sites telling the same story, including the official Euro 2012 site. What prompted you to join the GPWA? How has it helped you? I’d noticed a badge on one of the other sites in Croatia and wanted to have it. Sites look more trustworthy with that badge than without it. GPWA is just what this industry needs and what the affiliates need: an association which says certain sites are trustworthy and that they respect copyrights. The influence of this association can’t be measured in financial terms, but I think the GPWA is part of the glue which holds the entire industry together. Since trustworthiness and respect are the basis of GPWA, and I’m always looking for an honest way to do something, I feel like I’ve always been a member. Just had to sign up to make it official. Age 31 Hometown Zagreb Living in Zagreb Favorite Food Chocolate Must Read Book Ulysses, by James Joyce Sites Oklade.net OddsNavigator.eu Superbet.info “You need to focus on a specific sport or league, and write good articles about that. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, or you’ll regret it.” Dan in meeting with Ivo Josipovic, the president of Croatia 47 GPWA Affiliate Interview Series