GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 32 - June 2015

etization path further down the track. We are constantly assessing new market op- portunities as we expand. Favourit's offices are based in Australia, but you only accept real-money bets from the U.K., correct? Do you plan to expand to any other markets? We are licensed in the U.K. and Malta, which effectively means we can accept customers from most parts of the world. While our current data- base has a significant portion of U.K. cus- tomers, we’re actively looking at emerging markets to expand our operations. What role have affiliates played in gen- erating new players at Favourit? Do you see affiliates becoming an even more in- tegral part of Favourit's player acquisi- tion plan? To date, our affiliate partners have played a significant role growing our database. Partners who have taken a chance to promote Favourit have benefit- ed from the social nature of the product, which keeps players engaged longer. Moving ahead, I see affiliates playing an even greater role in growing Favourit as they’re able to integrate Favourit data within their content, which not only adds value to the affiliates’ sites, but also helps educate their audiences about Favourit and its benefits. You recently joined the GPWA as a Platinum Sponsor — we're excited to have you on board! Why did you decide to join the GPWA? What are you hoping to get out of your sponsorship? First, it was a no-brainer to sponsor the GPWA, which has many talented individuals involved in the gambling industry. Personally, I’ve been lurking around the forum for the past year and look forward to connecting with affiliates who are looking for some- thing unique compared to the traditional bookmaker experience. Favourit offers affiliates a tiered rev- enue share from 25 to 35 percent, with GPWA members earning 50 percent for the first three months. You also offer CPA and hybrid deals on a case-by-base basis. Based on what you've seen, which is the better deal for affiliates? Why do you think it's important to give affiliates the ability to select their payment plan? For customer referrals and sign-ups, we've got a competitive tiered revenue plan that offers long-term and high player value based on our engagement metrics. Which deal is better for affiliates? That de- pends on the affiliates’ strategy and what they want to get out of the partnership, al- though we are seeing an appetite for hybrid deals, which delivers affiliates the immedi- ate income and an ability to continue to gen- erate income from returning players. One clause in your terms and conditions states that affiliate accounts may be closed if affiliates fail to deliver at least five depositing players within three months of joining the program, and all affiliate payments will be deferred un- til five depositing players are delivered. This clause was noted by a GPWA mem- ber in the forums as not being affiliate friendly. Can you explain the reasoning behind the clause? Our objective is to build long-term, scalable and profitable partnerships with our existing and fu- ture affiliates. Our affiliate program aims to maximize activity for partners, and as a result, we are mindful of investing our time managing and working with affili- ates who are able to provide quality traf- fic. From our experience, affiliates have not had an issue with this kind of quota given the low barrier; however, we are al- ways open to working directly with affili- ate partners to improve the terms of our program and ensure partners maximize the opportunities working with us. We have since removed the activity quota, as we are genuinely looking to encourage new affiliates to join the program and see what Favourit has to offer. How do you ensure that payments are sent out on time? When do your pay- ments go out? Paying affiliates on time is very important to us, as we’re looking to deliver on promises made and, more im- portantly, build trust with affiliate part- ners. Affiliate payments are processed in the second week of each calendar month via their player accounts. Favourit has a very active Twitter feed (@favouritdotcom), with live tweets during big games. Who manages that ac- count? What is the business strategy be- hind being so active during games? We employ a full-time social media coordina- tor who manages our social media activity from the U.K. A key objective behind any of our content is to provide our customers insightful information in real time, which adds value to their betting experience. It's one thing to bring in new people to a site; it's another thing entirely to get them to stick around. What does Favourit do to retain players sent by affiliates? Great question! It’s something we believe is unique to Favourit. The social design of the product keeps players coming back more frequently, which results in better yield than competitors. To date, our affiliate partners have played a significant role growing our database. Partners who have taken a chance to promote Favourit have benefited from the social nature of the product, which keeps players engaged longer.” 65 Affiliate Manager Interview Series