GPWA Times Magaine - Issue 23 - February 2013

By Jeremy Enke While the popularity of playing online poker continues to grow globally, the pok- er affiliate market continues to circle in a holding pattern awaiting its command for landing at a final destination. There are countless reasons why the poker affiliate market underperformed many other gam- bling affiliate markets in 2012, but the most likely culprit is “uncertainty,” which is the best way to sum up the entire year. Poker affiliates across the globe contin- ue to be faced with a deluge of constant changes in an already turbulent market. Whether it is poker sites changing net- works, payment processors going down, Google algorithms changing, or sadly, poker rooms going rogue, one thing is cer- tain: The poker affiliate market is not for the faint of heart. Longtime poker affiliates, who have weathered many storms, including the UIGEA and Black Friday, are without a doubt the most resilient group of Internet marketers on the planet. This year could also prove to be interesting for the poker affiliate industry. It could be a year of exciting transformation for the market, or unfortunately, it could be another year of uncertainty and ambiguity. From the inception of poker affiliate marketing, one thing has remained constant, however: When the market changes, the top poker affiliates learn to embrace and adapt to these changes. And while no one has a crystal ball with which to peer into the future, we can make a few assumptions about what to expect in 2013 and beyond. U.S. legislation – With the political elections in the U.S. over, could 2013 be the year that online poker legislation in the U.S. finally begins to take shape? Many analysts and industry experts believe this could indeed be the year. It’s impossible to know what the implications will be for affiliate marketers should some form of legislation take place. More than likely there will be a role of some sort for affiliates, although the landscape, commission structures and business model may be drastically different from what many poker affiliates have grown accustomed to. Social gaming – As infrastructure improves and more individuals continue to join social networks across the globe, expect to see a continued interest in social gaming. In anticipation of legislation, several potential future real-money operators are joining the fray by introducing social play-money poker. While there may be limited value in this model for affiliates at this time, it is definitely an area to watch closely throughout the next year. Should social gaming become the gateway to a new world of real-money online poker in the future, many in the industry expect affiliates could play a significant role. Mobile gaming – With the rapid growth and advancement of mobile technol- ogy, the importance of embracing mo- bile gaming cannot be understated. For years, many poker affiliates have always believed that playing online poker for real money from a mobile device would be far too problematic. A few years ago this may have been true. The introduction of ad- vanced tablets with 4G access, however, has made mobile online poker a reality. As more operators introduce mobile-friendly platforms, there will be new opportuni- ties for affiliates to introduce these prod- ucts to their traffic and capitalize on this emerging market. Industry consolidation – Since Black Friday, there have been numerous ac- quisitions, mergers and strategic part- nerships in the online gambling sector. Don’t expect to see this trend decrease anytime soon. With U.S. legislation po- tentially right around the corner, as well as an industry that is constantly evolving, we should expect to see more and more companies consolidating in anticipation of these regulated markets. And in terms of who, what, when, where . . . well, expect the unexpected! While the online poker industry will con- tinue to evolve at its own pace through- out 2013, one of the smartest things ex- isting affiliates can do is to diversify. As an affiliate, if you have been able to find even a moderate amount of success in the poker affiliate market, there is no doubt you can be successful in any market. One of the easiest diversification strategies for existing poker affiliates to embrace is to simply promote new products within the gambling industry. Over the past year many poker affiliates have found success by more actively promoting online casinos or sports betting. Many affiliates have also begun to explore new products such as binary options trading or finance-related markets. The key is to not solely limit Poker affiliate marketing in 2013 and beyond Poker affiliate marketing in 2013 and beyond “Whether it is poker sites changing networks, payment processors going down, Google algorithms changing, or sadly, poker rooms going rogue, one thing is certain: The poker affiliate market is not for the faint of heart.” 23