GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

says Dee. “We really take advantage of that relationship because the brand rec- ognition is through the roof. From a cus- tomer acquisition standpoint, we are al- ways promoting Deal or No Deal to our affiliates to make sure they’re leveraging that title because the cost per acquisition ismuch cheaper.” In addition to games based on tried and truegameshows,GSNalsooffersversions ofwell-knownWebgames likeBejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies along with clas- sics like Spider Solitaire, Free Cell and Hearts. Players have ahugemixof games to choose from, and affiliates have awide rangeof games topromote. While none of the real-money games GSN offers are traditional casino games, Dee believes that there is a great oppor- tunity for casino affiliates to promote real-money skill games to their players, because he sees a great crossover demo- graphic. Theplayerbase is comparable to that of online bingo (more women than men, typically aged 35 and up), with a revenue model similar to that of online poker, except that the rake is on average 20 percent, twice what you’d find at a typical onlinepoker room. The site offers heads-upmatches, tourna- ments with a set number of entries and progressive tournamentsat awidevariety ofbuy-in levels, soplayershave lotsofop- tions in terms of games, stakes and types of tournaments. Once a playermakes a deposit withGSN (and about 3 to 5 percent of new signups in a givenmonthdomake a deposit), the site works hard tomake sure that player sticks around. In addition to a traditional deposit bonus, players earn loyaltypoints for every cash game they play, with weekly bonuses for high-volume players. Players also earn points for just logging into the site every day. Points can be re- deemed for bonus cash on the site or gift certificates to Amazon.com, Target or Walmart, amongother things. GSN also utilizes a fair-matching algo- rithm, ensuring that players are always matched up against other players of relatively equal skill. As a result, new players don’t end up beingmatched up against opponents whose skill level is far superior to their own, resulting in a better player experience andhigher cus- tomer retention. The sitealsooffers a social casino,where players can purchase chips, as well as free games, which earn revenue from traditional Web advertising, and has been investigating the possibility of en- tering the real-money casino space, if and when the opportunity presents it- self. But for now, the company is focus- ing on attracting players—and online gambling affiliates—to its real-money skill games. As part of its push to attract more af- filiates, GSN is increasing the revenue share it's offering. "(The online casino affiliate market) is amarket we haven't really invested in," saysDee. "Ourplayershavevery similar lifetime values of poker players and the overall demographic and psychograph- ic of these players are so similar that it just seems like a very obvious fit." Even though its real-money skill games aren't technically gambling, affiliates looking for a place to send trafficmight find that GSN is a great bet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aaron Todd is the senior editor of the GPWA Times Magazine . He hasmore than six years of editorial experience in the online gambling industry, coveringmajor industry innovations and trends. You can follow him on Twitter@CasinoCity_AT. “ A lot of our affiliates useDeal or NoDeal topromoteus to their players because of theobviouswell- branded aspect of thegame.”— JimDee 31 GSNbetting big on skill games— and affiliates