GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 24 - April 2013

AFFILIATE MANAGER INTERVIEW SERIES €25,000,000 draw is the largest in Europe and we make the draw live on TV and via the Internet. In addition to that, we also have a range of scratch cards available to customers, so it really is the complete “lot- tery” package. I’m happy to say that this brand is having an overhaul to improve the offering further very soon. With such European-focused names, do you only allow players from European countries to play real-money games on the sites? Or can affiliates who tar- get other markets send their players to EuroSlots and EuroLotto.com? As the name suggests, we do appeal mostly to European players and pay in euros. That’s not to say that we can’t accept play- ers from other countries, but the languages we have and the “look and feel” that we’ve gone for on the site is very Euro-centric. Essentially, we’ve taken the ethos from our Scandinavian-focused sites andmoved that success into a more pan-European site. The idea is then to release more brands as we go along, some very soon, which will ap- peal to other markets more specifically. It’s one thing to bring in new people to a site. It’s another thing entirely to get them to stick around. What do the Cherry Affiliates brands do to retain players sent by affiliates? We’ve under- taken some great initiatives and have in- vested in some of the best technologies in the business to ensure our CRM is one of the bet out there. Not only that, we have partnered with (and are continuing to launch with) the leading game providers to ensure that we have the latest games available that players want, meaning they don’t need to go anywhere else. We know that players like to shop around to find the games and services that suit them, so it was up to us to provide the best longev- ity we can to make sure that every player’s potential lifespan is fully realized. What do affiliates need to know about Cherry Affiliates in order to effectively market their brands?What distinguish- es the Cherry Affiliates brands from other online casinos, both in terms of the player’s experience and what you offer affiliates? We’ve been doing this for a long time and can quite proudly say we are innovators in both online and offline mediums. We’ve been able to channel this into our new casino product and the extra brands that are coming out in the com- ing months and years. I’ve felt for a while that the spirit of casino has been tainted by casinos falling over themselves to offer bigger bonuses to get the highest listing on affiliate sites, while forgetting what is most important – the casino experience. Of course we offer competitive bonuses, but we’ve concentrated most on offering the best casino possible – 24/7 support, quick cash outs, instant bonuses and pro- motions, real-time stats of your play – ev- erything a discerning or new player would need or expect. Describe the office culture at Cherry Affiliates. If there were a fly on the wall, what are some of the topics of conver- sation it would hear about at the water cooler? We’re lucky tohave some of the best people in the industry in our offices. They’re young, hungry and successful in their re- spective fields, and more importantly, they have a passion for the business. At the mo- ment, summer is coming, so everyone is ob- sessedwith the gym. That may bemostlymy fault as much of it started as a bet between a few of us, but as far as hobbies go, I think it’s one of the better ones to be involved in! What do you know about the industry now that you wish you knew when you first started? Anything I know now would have come in handy back then! Things change so fast and are so unpredictable on almost a daily basis that some sort of crystal ball would have been invaluable. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. How do you ensure that payments are sent out on time? And when do your pay- ments go out? All reporting, reconciliation andauditing is done on the first of themonth, so once that is done, it is sent to our account- ingdepartment topayas soonaspossible.We plan to ensure payments are in affiliates’ ac- counts by the 10th of eachmonth at the latest and are looking to make that faster. We also have a very wide variety of payment meth- ods, including Bank Transfers, Skrill and Neteller, and are adding more all the time. Where do you think the industry will be in five years? It’s very hard to say as regulation and technology change con- Affiliate Manager Interview Series