GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 31 - February 2015

These three managers are among the industry’s best. The expertise they bring to their programs – and to their affiliate partners – is second to none. Mark Podd of Royal Panda tells us about how the program got its name and logo, and also explains why Royal Panda is designed to retain players as well as attract them. Laura Clarke has been with bet365 for about two years now, and before that actually had a bet365 player account. She enjoyed betting on soccer and in-play tennis. Jakob Persad of WagerOn possesses a wealth of talent and industry knowledge, including several years’ prior experience working on a fraud/risk management team. MEET THE AFFILIATE MANAGERS You've worked in the online gambling industry for the last three years, but you started your career as a journalist in the video game industry. What was the best part of working in that industry? And why did you ultimately decide to leave it? I’ve always enjoyed video games, and just being part of that industry was some- thing I loved throughout my time there (especially early on). But that being said, as I developed an understanding for the job, developing my existing skills and adding new ones to my skill set was very satisfying. So I was fortunate enough to take plenty of positives from my time in video games. But video games journalism isn’t some- thing you want to do forever, and I’d been getting some interesting offers from iGaming companies. So when one came along that I found too good to turn down, I was on my way. And besides, it’s nice to have video games back as a hobby. What are some of the major similarities between the video game industry and the online gambling industry? What are some of the major differences? I think as an entertainment industry, our consumers have similar expectations when it comes to things like quality of service, value for money (both long term and short term), variation of games and novelty value. But in other ways we’re very different from video games. If you look at most worthwhile online casinos, they’ll nor- mally offer games from Microgaming, or NetEnt, or both. Whereas something like an Xbox or PlayStation console will al- ways have a certain number of games you can’t play anywhere else. But in a way, that’s good for us. It encour- ages us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors in other ways, whether that’s by offering more favorable bonus terms, more eye-catching promotions, superior customer service and affiliate deals, or the like. And likewise, it means our players can continue to play their favorite games if they do switch casinos. So if you know what you’re doing, you arrive at a situa- tion where everyone benefits. Obviously there has been a great deal of debate recently in the gaming com- munity about the role of women. What are your thoughts on the "GamerGate" controversy? Do you think there could be any parallels in the gambling indus- try? Well, aside from the obvious fact that it’s completely unacceptable to harass fe- male professionals simply because they’re female professionals working in that par- ticular industry (especially abuse on that kind of scale), I actually find it saddening. Video games, much like online casino, es- sentially exist to bring people pleasure. So for people to use that as a platform to spread such views is very disappointing. With regards to something akin to GamerGate specifically happening in our industry, though, I think we’re prob- ably at less of a risk because of the way we present ourselves to our audience; a high-ranking person in the iGaming in- dustry is less likely to be exposed to the same level of publicity a studio head or a popular commentator or critic would be in the video games industry. I also think the way our communities work would hopefully hamper that as well. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen in other forms. Ultimately, you’re still talking about deep-rooted prejudice. And while environmental factors unique to video games may facilitate that to a great- er degree, the fact of the matter is these things can manifest themselves in any number of high- and low-profile ways (such as female customer service staff or croupiers being harassed). So it’s some- thing we need to be alert to, and be pre- pared to respond to quickly and robustly if it does happen. Video gaming obviously has a huge com- munity, and as a journalist, you were a big part of that community. Do you find that online gambling has the same sense of community? How does Royal Panda MARK PODD Royal Panda AFFILIATE MANAGER INTERVIEW SERIES Affiliate Manager Interview Series