GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 34 - February 2016

helps us translate our gambling content to several other languages. How big is the sports betting market in Portugal? How fast is it growing? Our market is growing at a fast pace. Unfortunately, we are now in the middle of a regulation process, which means the market had to shrink because of the li- censing and the taxes. We are waiting for the regulations and mainly for the licens- es, so operators can run their businesses and so can we. But I really think Portugal is a huge market. It’s a small country that likes to gamble a lot. Which operators do you find to be the best to convert and the easiest to work with? I think bet365 is a really good choice when it comes to conversion rates and high-quality affiliate support. It re- ally is the best company to work with. In Portugal we have also Dhoze, which is from Betsafe, and the conversion rates are huge, mainly because they have a more regional approach. Do you have any plans to branch out into other languages or focus on any new jurisdictions? We are investing a lot of money and resources to gather a good percentage of the Brazilian, Spanish and U.K. markets in the upcoming years. What are some of your sites’ unique sell- ing points? How do you stand out from the crowd? I think one of our unique sell- ing points is our content. We create really good content that helps people make bet- ter decisions on their betting. We also offer a huge amount of data, including games, results, live scores, a player database, club database, a huge games calendar, etc. We work hard to deliver the best content and stats so gamblers can make the best deci- sions on their bets. Every piece of content, be it a blog post, a betting preview or a club history, is created to help our visitors to make better decisions. What do you think is a better strategy for affiliates? To launch numerous sites, or to be laser-focused on creating great content for a small number of sites? I re- ally like the Pareto principle: 80% of the return comes from 20% of your websites. That 20% is where the money is, which means that you need to work on that and stop wasting your time on other things. I do prefer to have fewer websites, built bigger to make a difference. How many people work for your site? We are about six people. How often do you get to see and inter- act with other people in the industry? Do you attend any industry conferences? I normally attend the iGaming conferences, like LAC, BAC, etc. In 2015 I attended LAC and AAC, but I only go when there is some business to do. What traits do you look for in an affili- ate manager? How about in an affiliate program? I like an affiliate manager who cares about you and your goals. One of the things I like most at bet365 are the yearly goals. That’s a big motivation to drive more sales and make more money. In addition to that, an affiliate manager who is ready to help you with anything you need is great. In an affiliate program, I rely on good daily or real-time stats, good campaigns and promotions, a wide variety of creative materials in the languages I need, and also a good revenue share deal. What’s your preferred method of com- munication with affiliate managers? I prefer Skype chat or calls. What prompted you to join the GPWA? How has it helped you? I joined the GPWA a few years ago. I really like the badges, the community, the newsletters and the magazine. It helped me a lot early on to understand some principles and strategies for this market. You’ve been a member of the GPWA for more than seven years, but are one of our many “lurkers.” What might prompt you to join a discussion on our message boards? I really don’t have that much time to spend on forums. I do prefer to talk with people at conferences or Skype if needed. Sorry for that. ( Editor’s note: No apology necessary! ) What do you like about the industry? I like many things about the industry, es- pecially the opportunity to make money with games, which is really nice. The conferences, the people, the brands . . . I think it’s a really good market and a huge opportunity. If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be and why? The lack of affiliate contracts. An affili- ate is like a partner. It must be respected in every way, including paying commis- sions when there is a problem, sending af- filiates all the inside information so they can be prepared for changes, all that stuff. The reality is that affiliates are treated the same way as a person that doesn’t make the company better or bigger. Affiliates AGE 30 HOMETOWN Leiria, Portugal LIVING IN Leiria, Portugal FAVORITE FOOD Duck rice MUST-READ BOOK How to Build a Billion Dollar App, by George Berkowski SITES www.asmelhoresapostasonline.com www.apostasesportivasonline.net www.apuestasdeportivas.es www.guiacasinoonline.com www.sportsbettingpro.co.uk www.sportzmanager.com 43 GPWA Affiliate Interview Series