GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

One of thefirst things AffiliateRepublik did when it launched was become a GPWA sponsor (thanks for that, by the way!). Obviouslyyou felt thiswasan im- portant pieceof yourmarketingefforts. Why did you feel that way at launch, andhowdoes theGPWAfit intoAffiliate Republik's marketing efforts? We rec- ognize the history and the reputation of the GPWA, and we want to support the community. In addition, wewant to stay transparent by having our terms and conditions monitored by the APCW and our tracking software audited randomly to confirm to our partners that we can be trusted. Wehavebeena littlebit thinon theGPWA forum simplybecauseof lackof time, and we plan on improving that to become more active in order to reach out to the members andpromoteour new casino. Affiliate Republik is looking to launch Slots Million soon, correct? When do you expect the launchwill happen? And what canplayers and affiliates look for- ward to when the property does open for business? In particular, what do you expect will differentiate Slots Million from other online casinos? Correct! We have been somewhat latewith the launch as the casino is running on a brand-new platform using new technologies. It has been challenging and a bumpy road, but we expect it to be rewarding in the end. Wepresented a livedemo at theLAC and got better feedback than expected, and that made us very happy. Up until re- centlywe have been ironing out the bugs that were recorded during the live test- ing, and in recentdayswehavebeenbusy with optimizing the performance and adding a few last touches to the site. We will launch a casino that has a complete- ly adaptive design to different devices, meaning that if you are on a regular iPad or PC, youwill see one image and if you areona retinascreen,youwill seeanother optimized image for that resolution. The samegoeswith screen sizes; basically, the content and user experience are seam- lessly optimized no matter what device you are on. Among other things, we will have over 10 software providers under the same roof including the BigKahunas. Very exciting times. Oneof themost important issuesonline casinos must address is problem gam- bling. What do theAffiliateRepublik ca- sinosdo to try to identifyandhelpplay- erswithgamblingproblems? That is true. Forone thing, if our staff identifiesor sus- pects that a player is losing control, then they chat andadvise theplayer togoover a few standard gambling problem ques- tions and even recommend a few ways whereby theplayer can talk to a qualified independent person or forum who can help. Then also, the players have either our budgeting tool or the cool-offoptions that they can use in order to limit their spending budget during a certain period of time, oruse theoptionof self-exclusion to cool off for abit. InSlotsMillionweare taking these tools further and the players willbeable tobudget the timespent in the casino or the number of bets placed per certainperiod. 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 your properties do to retain players sent by affiliates? Besides our usual retention ef- forts andattentive customer care,we tend to segment players from individual affili- ates and send them co-branded mailers, showingour closeassociationwith theaf- filiate they came from. We have also run exclusivecompetitions forgroupsofplay- ers coming from one affiliate. Currently, we are developing private tournaments with customprizes thatwebelievewill be a nice addition to the pool of promotions thatwe runwith affiliates. Affiliate Republik offers affiliates rev- enue share starting at 30 percent up to 45 percent based on net revenue pro- duced.WhydidAffiliateRepublikdecide to utilize this commission model? This is the “old school” commission model that is straightforward where the deal aims to rewardmore for higher turnover. It is the most familiar revenue model in our industry, even if it is an old one. We are actually talking with our current partners and known affiliates about in- troducing an additional model which is based on the number of real-moneyplay- ers referred during a month. And then, we do also negotiate custom deals with individual affiliates. Describe the office culture at Affiliate Republik. If therewere aflyon thewall, what are some of the topics of conver- sation it would hear about at thewater cooler? Lately there has been a lot of talk about the Maltese license (which we just received) and SlotsMillion, of course.We are also talkingabout thenewMalteseof- ficeandwhowill be there. If the talk isnot work related, thenwe are sharing tips for restaurants or rooftopbars around town. Growingup inSweden,didyoueverthink you'd be traveling all around the world aspartof your job?What's thebestpart of traveling for conferences?Andwhat's the worst part? Interesting question. Actually, yes! I did plan to be in a posi- AFFILIATEMANAGER INTERVIEW SERIES AffiliateManager Interview Series