GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

Sayhello to the top football capperonSportsCapping.com When did your launch your sites? I launched BetVega.com in 2005 with a focus on sports handicapping and online sportsbookpromotion.After 2006, the fo- cus moved to selling sports picks as the main revenuedriver, alongwithupdating the latest futuresodds for themajorsports across NorthAmerica. Sports picks sales on the site are driven by an affiliate feed from SportsCapping.com. To my knowl- edge, it is the only and best live sports handicapping feed that can be placed within the theme of your currentwebsite. I highly recommend it. DailyFantasySportsNetwork.com (DFSN) was launched inOctober 2012. After rec- ognizing the incredible growth poten- tial of one-day fantasy sports contests for cash prizes, I created DFSN hoping to cash in on the “next big thing.” Daily Fantasy Sports sites like FanDuel.com andDraftKings.comarebasedona“rake” model similar to poker, so I understood that large commission checks were not going tohappenovernight.Thankfullyaf- ter two years, a few “whales” found their wayontomy sheets and I am seeing solid monthly revenue. PromoCodeKings.comwas just launched in April 2014. The general focus is once again within the one-day fantasy sports niche, but I am keeping a close eye on the legal status of online gaming inNew York, Pennsylvania andNew Jersey. Anyplans, either tentativeordefinite, to add new sites to themix? Roughly sev- en years ago, I had thoughts of running a large affiliate marketing network com- prised of 25 sites, but I quickly realized two things: 1.Whenyouhave toomany sites, noneof themwill operate to full potential. 2. I donotwant tohavemy eggs all in onebasket or industry. How“loyal”areyour customers?What is the average shelf life of a typical sign- up? The daily fantasy sports player is very loyal. The variation of player activ- ity is normally due to which sport is in season, not busting a bankroll likewe see with your average sportsbook customers. Also, these players have options to play at smaller buy-in levels,whichhelpskeep themon the sitegeneratingdaily revenue. How did you become involved in the in- dustry? Iwas abookie in college, so Iwas attracted to the online space in hopes of making extra income. I worked in sales &marketing for a major pharmaceutical company from 2000 to 2008. BetVega.com wasgrowing rapidly in2005-2006, so Ide- cided to go at it full-time. It is has been a very bumpy road, to say the least, but overall things have worked out well. How longdid ittakeforyoutostartearn- ingmoney? Andwhere does the bulk of your revenue come from? Affiliate pro- grams? Or users who sign up to receive your picks? I started earning commission checks immediately. I had a pretty good handleonSEOback in2005, so trafficwas never an issue. Unfortunately, my top revenue sourcedecidedoneday that they weregoing to close their affiliateprogram and no longer pay out for the thousands of players I sent their way. It took me about two years tomake up for that lost revenue, but this time itwas coming from a much more reliable source, my own sportspick sales. Are you a one-person shop or are you partofa largerorganization? I amaone- man shop, but I employ one writer for content onBetVega andDFSN. Describeyourworkenvironment.Doyou work from home or in an office? If you work from home, how often do you get to see and interact with other people in the industry? I work from home on a daily basis. Thankfullymy home is locat- edon agolf course, so I canget outside to clearmyhead abit. Unfortunately, I have not hadmuch interaction with people in the industry. I amhoping thatwill change as states in theUSA continue tomove to- ward legalizedonlinegaming. How much time do you devote to re- searching your plays? And do you put money on your picks yourself? From August toFebruary (SuperBowl Sunday), I would estimate that 65 percent of my work time is dedicated to sports handi- capping. Over the years I havedeveloped a system that focuses on five criteria for my selections, somy time is actually a bit streamlined compared to thepast. I personally bet every selection that I re- lease tomy clients.When a pickdoes not hit, I lose twice. I losemy bet and poten- tial future revenue from a clientwhopur- chased the losingpick. What kind of results do you have mak- ing your picks? Do you make a regular profit? Fromwhat I have seen, no other documented handicapper has had a bet- AGE: 35 HOMETOWN: Philadelphia, Pa. LIVING IN: NewYork FAVORITE FOOD: Sugar snappeas MUSTREADBOOK: Winning , by JackWelch SITES: BetVega.com DailyFantasySportsNetwork.com(DFSN) PromoCodeKings.com GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES TREVROGERS BetVega GPWA Affiliate Interview Series