GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 34 - February 2016

Researching the iGaming fossil record in Poland with E-PLAY Your sites are both Polish-language sites. Can you tell us a little bit about the scope of your sites and who your targeted audience is? Our main page, www.e-play.pl , is the most recognizable for Polish readers because it is the old- est one. There we write about gambling mainly for readers who have known us for many years, and they know they can find fresh news about things they are in- terested in. E-play.eu is focused mainly on players. The site offers information about gambling online — casino reviews and ranks, promotions and bonuses. A few months ago we started a mobile application — E-PLAY ONLINE — in which we offer all the best things from all of our sites, also in English. This year we also launched a few new sites; e-playkasyno.com focuses mainly on ca- sinos, e-playbet.com on sportsbook and e-playslot.com on slots. What are some of your sites’ unique selling points? How do you stand out from the crowd? We are the oldest and biggest gambling information website in Poland. We have unique content taken di- rectly from serious sources. We are widely quoted by the largest Polish media outlets as specialists in the gambling industry. There are many websites about casinos, sportsbook and poker in Polish, but only E-PLAY writes for players as well as for gambling suppliers. What types of content do you find draw the most traffic? The two most important types of content on our sites are gambling industry news and interesting news for players, like promotions and bonuses. Since both your sites are Polish- language sites, why have both a .pl and .eu site? Is there much crossover in terms of content on the two sites? Do the sites perform differently in search results? E-PLAY was launched in 2003, when we started with www.e-play.pl and targeted readers interested in gambling and the gambling industry in Poland. In those early years we wrote about casinos, AWPs (amusement with prizes), lotteries, and games like billiards and darts. At the end of 2007, we started to publish a print- ed monthly gambling magazine, E-PLAY . We had to shut down this project when the Gambling Act in Poland was amend- ed to prohibit all gambling advertisement activity in the country at the end of 2009. All advertisements disappeared from the website as well, but we continued run- ning it because we still had readers and we hoped for a change in the law. In 2014 we moved our business to the U.K. so we could start our full activity anewwith a newwebsite, www.e-play.eu , mainly focused on online gambling. On this site we write about online casinos, bookmakers and poker rooms; bonuses; promotions; and other news of interest to new players. We built our casino rankings with full reviews. This page is in Polish and English — for foreign readers inter- ested in the Polish market. What advice would you give to someone looking to branch out into the Polish market? First advice— start with E-PLAY. The second—don’t be sly and find a good translator, not Google Translate. There are many foreign online casinos trying to start in Poland, but if you could see their “Polish” . . . they can spend a lot of money on advertising, but since they write their webpages in “Google Polish,” they won’t succeed in my country. What else? Polish players love free money and free spins, but I guess that’s not unique to Poland. Can you describe what the regulatory en- vironment in Poland was like when you first started? How would you describe the environment today? I have worked in the gambling industry for nearly 18 years. In the late 1990s I worked with AWPs, later with the Polish lotto, and then I was invited by my brother Iwo to run E-PLAY. When I started in the gambling business it was a nice time; the gambling law passed in 1992 was much friendlier for that kind of activity. In 2003 we had the first huge amendment, and it was the best time for private gambling companies in Poland. The worst time started in 2009, as the law practically killed AWPs and arcades in Poland. Now we have another amend- ment, which allows us to promote busi- ness online but only for companies with state licenses. The license is available only for companies that have brick-and-mortar properties in Poland. But — as you may know — online bookies and casinos have Polish websites for Polish players and they can run their business with their do- mestic, U.K. or Maltese licenses. So on the one side we have Polish law, on the other, European. And players play. Describe your organization. How many employees does E-PLAY have? And what’s your role within that organiza- tion? We are not more than 10 people, with editors, graphic designers and IT special- ists. I am one of three partners; the other two are my brothers — Iwo and Bartek. Iwo Bulski is founder and CEO of E-PLAY Consulting Ltd, the owner of all E-PLAY brands and projects. I am responsible for marketing matters and site content. You live in Poland, but your company’s headquarters are in London. Are you the only employee that works remote- ly? How often do you get to see your coworkers? The nature of our work is to work remotely; there are too many places where something our sites cover happens. We watch everything remotely and have meetings a few times a month. GPWA AFFILIATE INTERVIEW SERIES Blasco Błażej Bulski GPWA Affiliate Interview Series