GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 35 - June 2016

that no one can say that it’s censorship! The Soviet Union censorship power is nothing compared to U.S. censorship. What are the most popular games, in your experience, among Russian players? I guess those are video slots and roulette. What do you think is a better strategy for affiliates: launching numerous sites, or being laser-focused on creating great content for a small number of sites? I believe that it is very difficult to launch a new big project. The only way now is to borrow the customer base from another successful project. However, large proj- ects are negatively influenced by domain filtering, so it is preferable in the current situation to launch many small sites. What are some of your sites’ unique sell- ingpoints?Howdoyoustandout fromthe crowd? The main features of Casinoz.me are our honest attitude toward readers and our professional approach to busi- ness. Materials for the site are prepared by ex-casino employees and players who have experienced what they are writing about in the articles. They talk openly about all the pros and cons of the gam- bling industry, share their secrets and help avoid mistakes. We try to convey to the readers that gam- bling should be treated as entertainment, instead of a way of enrichment. If you have this approach, you will be able to enjoy it. We often discuss fraudsters who sell “winning” betting systems and orga- nize fraudulent schemes. In short, we try to educate visitors, to persuade them that they should not believe unfair advertising and fairy tales but rather think with their own mind. We are not afraid to expose fraudulent casinos and help our visitors solve the problems that may arise with gambling establishments. Finally, it is important to note that on the website there are a lot of different types of articles that deal with all aspects of gam- bling. You will find reviews, tutorials, the- matic publications, news, rules, strategies and information about current bonuses, tournaments and draws. We were among the first organizations to test new products for top brands. We usually describe them the day of their official release. We have come to the conclusion that tran- sient gains are insignificant and unwor- thy. Therefore, the strategy for Casinoz.me is based primarily on fair and systematic operation. What types of content do you find draw the most traffic? It is impossible to carry out such an analysis, since partners don’t provide information that could shed light on these issues. This is a general problem in the gambling affiliate business. Partners are reluctant to share information. For ex- ample, we can rarely find out: • From which pages of our project a play- er has entered the partner site. • What games he usually plays (some partners give information in the verbal form, but it is an exception). • When a player registered. • When he made his first deposit and what he was playing at that time. • Where he was when he decided to make a deposit. • What the total amount of his deposits  is. • How old he is. • What he likes. In general, the partners could provide us with much more information, preserving players’ anonymity, but they don’t want to share. Perhaps they shave, or are simply afraid that we will steal the players, due to their stupidity and short-sightedness. What advice would you give to someone looking to branch out into the Russian market? I would probably not start any- thing from scratch, because the risk that everything will soon be blocked is very high. Now, I would choose a different niche. Now almost any niche in online business is profitable. You just need the desire, activity and hard work. Do you have any plans to branch out to new jurisdictions or to launch your site(s) in other languages? Yes, soon we will support new languages. Probably Spanish, Italian, German and French. How many employees does your com- pany have? What’s your role within that organization? Our team consists of 11 people. I’m tasked with presenting new ideas — what should be done to improve the project, what new features should be- come available — and I’m also involved in common management, when necessary. Outside of people who you work for your company, how often do you get to see and interact with other people in the industry? It happens rarely; people don’t want to advertise themselves. There was a closed forum where old webmasters communicated. However, after the West’s interference in Ukraine, when a new gov- ernment of thieves seized power using neo-Nazi parties, I began to defend the actions of our government as a patriot of my country and a person who was well- informed on geopolitics. However, the webmasters did not have their own opin- ions and kept quiet, being afraid to say the wrong thing about politics, or they were just corrupt pro-Western guys for whom money and comfort are the most important things. They had property in Spain and were afraid to lose it, since a lot of money was taken away from accounts in Cyprus. Therefore, they only criticized our government, because it gradually tightens legislation. I immediately stood up for our country and expressed my po- sition. After that I was banned and lost contact with forum members. Apart from them, I still keep in contact with some managers and webmasters I met at the AAC conference inAmsterdam. What traits do you look for in an affiliate manager? How about in an affiliate pro- gram? Unobtrusiveness is very important! It’s terrible to have an obtrusive manager! Among partners that have gained reputa- 49 GPWA Affiliate Interview Series